Swift Actions:
Idle Concentration: Can maintain Concentration on a Telekinesis effect (certain limitations apply)
Force Shield: +2 shield bonus to armor class
Telekinetic Exoskeleton: Can do one of the following at a time, indefinite duration: +INT to temp HP; +INT to STR/Climb/Swim; +10ft movement
Move Action Options:
Easy Focus: Can maintain Concentration as a move action
Racial Traits:
Ability Score Racial Traits: Human characters gain a +2 racial bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature. INT
Size: Humans are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Humans have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Humans begin play speaking Common. Humans with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Bonus Feat: Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.
Skills: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A symbiat is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the longsword, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow, and whip. A symbiat is proficient with no armor, but is proficient with shields. A symbiat wearing armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses the benefit of their Battlefield Sense.
Casting: A symbiat may combine spheres and talents to create magical effects. A symbiat is considered a Mid-Caster, and uses Intelligence as his casting ability modifier. (Note: All casters gain 2 bonus talents and may select a casting tradition the first time they gain the casting class feature.)
Spell Pool: A symbiat gains a small reservoir of energy he can call on to create truly wondrous effects, called a spell pool. This pool contains a number of spell points equal to his level + his Intelligence modifier (minimum: 1). This pool replenishes once per day after roughly 8 hours of rest.
Magic Talents: A symbiat gains a magic talent every time he gains a caster level, according to Table: Symbiat.
Mental Powers: A symbiat gains the Mind and Telekinesis spheres as bonus magic talents.
Battlefield Sense (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the symbiat’s second mind may subtly push the symbiat, protecting him from danger. The symbiat adds his Intelligence bonus (if any) to his AC and CMD. These bonuses apply even against touch attacks or when the symbiat is flat-footed and increase by +1 for every 4 symbiat levels possessed to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. The symbiat loses this bonus when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.
Psionics (Su): A symbiat’s alien mind empowers the symbiat with strength and subtlety far beyond what most casters can achieve. A symbiat may create psionic effects from the list below for a total number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Int modifier. Every level gained beyond 1st grants him an additional 2 rounds he may create psionic effects.
A symbiat may activate any psionic effect he possesses as a standard action, but need only spend a free action to maintain the effect each round. Changing from one psionic effect to another requires the symbiat to stop the previous effect and start a new one as a standard action. A psionic effect cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the symbiat is killed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a mental free action to maintain it each round. A symbiat cannot maintain more than one psionic effect at one time. At 7th level, a symbiat can start a psionic effect as a move action instead of a standard action. At 13th level, a symbiat can start a psionic effect as a swift action.
- Mind Link: The symbiat may link the minds of himself and any number of willing targets with Intelligence scores of 3 or higher. All targets to be connected must be within 60 ft of the symbiat when the effect is begun, but they need not remain within 60 ft while it is maintained. All affected creatures may communicate with each other through this mental link, provided they share a language. Where there is no shared language, only simple communication (go, come, attack, help) may be sent.
- Battlefield Relay: The symbiat may open the mind of an opponent, reading their intentions and relaying this information to his allies. Designating a target is a mind-altering effect, and the target is allowed a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 symbiat level + Int modifier) to negate this designation. If a creature is successfully designated as a target, the symbiat and all allies within 60 ft of the symbiat gain a +2 circumstance bonus to attack rolls and skill checks made against the target, a +2 dodge bonus to AC against attacks coming from the target, and a +2 circumstance bonus saving throws against any effect originating from the target. While the symbiat must stop a previous psionic effect and spend an action to activate battlefield relay, this effect only counts towards the symbiat’s daily limit of psionic rounds if the target fails their saving throw. The symbiat and all allies to gain these bonuses must be within 60 ft of the target to be affected by battlefield relay. At 7th level, the bonus granted by battlefield relay increases to +3. This increases to +4 at level 13, and +5 at level 19.
Telekinetic Manipulation: The symbiat may use their telekinesis to manipulate the battlefield. So long as this effect is active, the symbiat may, as an immediate action, add either a bonus or a penalty equal to 1/2 his symbiat level (minimum: 1) to one attack roll made within 60 ft of him. The symbiat must announce he will use this ability before the attack roll is made.
Share Expertise: At 3rd level, the symbiat may create a psionic effect that allows him and his allies to share knowledge and capabilities. The symbiat chooses one skill he has at least 1 rank in. All allies within 60 ft may use the symbiat’s ranks in that skill in place of their own when making checks, if the symbiat has more ranks. If the skill to be shared is a class skill, the class skill bonus is also shared, although every creature uses its own ability score modifier. At 10th level, the symbiat may choose the skill ranks and class skill bonus from an ally within range instead of himself and grant those ranks to himself and his other allies.
ESP (Ex): A symbiat is aware of more of his surroundings than his physical senses can account for. Beginning at 2nd level, he gains a bonus to Sense Motive and Perception checks equal to 1/2 his symbiat level.
Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level and higher, a symbiat’s added senses allow him to avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the symbiat is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless symbiat does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Pushed Movement (Su): At 3rd level, a symbiat gains the ability to unconsciously push their body to greater speeds through their telekinesis. The symbiat gains a +10 ft bonus to their base movement speed. This bonus increases by +10 ft for every 3 symbiat levels possessed beyond 3rd, to a maximum of +60 ft at 18th level.
Trapsense (Ex):
At 3rd level, a symbiat gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to armor class against attacks made by traps. These bonuses increase by +1 every three symbiat levels thereafter. Trapsense bonuses gained from multiple classes stack.
Casting: An incanter may combine spheres and talents to create magical effects. An incanter is considered a High-Caster. He may use either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as his casting ability modifier and must make this choice at 1st level. Once made, this choice cannot be changed. (Note: All casters gain 2 bonus talents and may select a casting tradition the first time they gain the casting class feature.)
Spell Pool: An incanter gains a small reservoir of energy he can call on to create truly wondrous effects, called a spell pool. This pool contains a number of spell points equal to his class level + his casting ability modifier (minimum: 1). This pool replenishes once per day after roughly 8 hours of rest.
Magic Talents: An incanter gains 2 magic talents at every odd level and 1 at every even level, according to Table: Incanter.
Bonus Feat: At 1st, 2nd, and every 2 levels thereafter, an incanter gains a bonus feat. This may be spent to gain an extra magic talent, or any feat which has casting as a prerequisite (Craft Item feats, metamagic feats, sphere focus, Circle Casting, etc.).
Wiki Note: Incanters may also select Drawback and Proxy feats as bonus feats, per the Handbooks they came out in. See the Feats page for more information about these options. Note that you must still meet the prerequisites for these feats, when applicable.
Incanter Specializations:
At 1st level, an incanter may choose a series of specializations, gaining additional abilities at the cost of some versatility. Every specialization costs a number of the incanter’s bonus feats, as indicated by the chart below. Each specialization costs either 1, 2, or 3 specialization points. An incanter cannot have more than 5 points worth of specializations. An incanter uses their incanter level as their effective wizard, sorcerer, or cleric level when determining the power of these abilities.
- none chosen
Favored Class: [3x] +1/6 of a magic talent (Incanter)
H1 Force Shield: By forming a thin field of telekinetic force with your hand as a swift action you can gain a +2 shield bonus to your armor class. Unlike an actual shield it imposes no spell failure or armor check penalty and does not count as wielding a shield for the purposes of class features and other effects. You must keep at least one hand free to maintain your force shield.
1 Combat Casting: +4 concentration while grappled or to avoid AoO
I1 Extra Magic Talent: gain +1 sphere or talent
T2 Skill Focus: Bluff: +3 Bluff, +6 at 10 ranks
I2 Extra Magic Talent: gain +1 sphere or talent
3 Telekinetic Exoskeleton: With your telekinesis you can supplement your physical skills. As a swift action you can give yourself one of the following benefits:
- - - Tactile Telekinesis: You add your casting ability modifier as a bonus to Strength checks, and Climb and Swim checks.
- - - Dampening Field: You gain temporary hit points equal to your casting ability modifier. They do not stack with themselves or other temporary hit points.
- - - Propelling Force: You gain a +10 ft enhancement bonus to your movement speeds.
These benefits lasts indefinitely. If you activate one of these benefits while a previous benefit is still in effect, the first benefit ends immediately.
T1 Extremely Fashionable (Equipment): Whenever you are wearing clothing and/or jewelry worth at least 150 gp (and not otherwise covered in gore, sewage, or other things that mar your overall look), you gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks. One of these skills (your choice) is a class skill for you.
T2 Focused Mind (Magic): +2 concentration
Spheres and Talents:
Spell Points: XX = 6+(INT*2)+1
CL: 3 DC: 11+MOD
Tradition: Secret of the Infinite Tower
Drawback 1: Focus Casting (Ring): Your magic requires you to use an item such as a wand, holy symbol, ring, or staff to create magic. Using magic without your focus requires you to make a concentration check (DC 20 + 1/2 the caster level) to produce the desired effect. Failure means time (and any spell points) are spent, but no effect happens. If a focus is lost, stolen, or broken, the caster must create a new focus by securing the necessary item and spending 8 hours bonding with it. At the GM’s discretion, however, another caster’s focus may be used instead.
Drawback 2: Somatic Casting: You must gesture to cast spells—a process that requires you to have at least 1 hand unoccupied. When using magic, you cannot wear armor heavier than light without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure. You may select this drawback twice. If taken a second time, you cannot wear any armor or use a shield without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure.
Boon 1: Easy Focus: When maintaining a sphere ability through concentration, you only need to spend a move action to maintain concentration instead of a standard action. This does not decrease the sphere ability’s casting time, only the action used to maintain concentration.
Net 1 Drawback; Bonus Spell Points: +1, +1 per 6 levels in casting classes
Total Gestalt Spheres and Talents: 7 Incanter + 2 Symbiat +Mind +Telekinesis (+2 from feats)
Mind Sphere
Mind: Read Mind
Mind: Subtlety
Telekinesis Sphere
Telekinesis: Idle Concentration
Telekinesis: Powerful Telekinesis
Telekinesis: Dancing Weapon
Telekinesis: Increased Range
Telekinesis: Weaponize
Illusion Sphere
Warp Sphere
Dark Sphere
Dark: Feed on Darkness
Mind Sphere
- X SP:Charm: You may place charms on creatures. Charms require a standard action to use and have a range of Close. You may only use charms on targets that possess your own creature type (humanoid for humanoids, etc.) although the Expanded Mind talent changes this. Each charm has three strengths; lesser, greater, and powerful. Lesser charms are at-will abilities, but you may not target an individual creature more than once in a day with any individual lesser charm. Greater charms cost a spell point to use and powerful charms cost 2 points to use. You must possess the Powerful Charm talent before you may use any powerful charms.
When you gain the Mind sphere, you gain the following charm:
- - Suggestion: You may plant thoughts into a target’s mind.
- - - 0 SP: Lesser Charm: You may plant a suggestion in a target’s mind, which they obey as if the thought had been their own (Will negates). The suggested course of activity must be limited to a sentence or two and must be a very simple request. The creature performs the suggested action until it finishes, or for 1 hour per caster level, whichever comes first. If you choose, you can instead specify conditions the creature should look for, (i.e., “you should search the next person who enters this room, looking for weapons.”) If the condition is not met before this duration expires, the activity is not performed.
- - - 1 SP: Greater Charm: This is the same as the Suggestion lesser charm, but may be up to a basic request. Very simple requests cause the save to be made with a -2 penalty. The target cannot be asked to do anything it would not normally do.
- - - 2 SP: Powerful Charm: This is the same as the Suggestion lesser charm, but the creature obeys any course of action given, so long as the suggestion is not obviously fatal or against the target’s nature. Basic requests cause the save to be made with a -2 penalty, while very simple requests cause the save to be made with a -4 penalty.
Some mind talents are designated (charm) talents. These talents grant you additional charms you may place on targets.
Subtlety: If a target succeeds on their save against one of your charms, they must immediately pass a second Will save. If they fail this second save, they do not realize they were the subject of an attempted mental assault.
Read Mind (charm): You can pull information from a target’s mind.
- - - 0 SP:Lesser Charm: You may detect a creature’s emotional state (Will negates if unwilling). Unlike other lesser charms, there is no limit to the number of times you may use this lesser charm on a target in a day.
- - - 1 SP:Greater Charm: You may read the surface thoughts of a creature (Will negates if unwilling) for as long as you concentrate.
- - - 2 SP:Powerful Charm: You may pull a specific piece of information out of a creature’s mind (Will negates). This is usually enough information to answer a single, specific question to the best of that creature’s knowledge, in no more than 25 words. A creature who successfully saves against this powerful charm may choose to provide no answer to your question or attempt to lie with their Bluff skill. If you use this powerful charm twice on the same creature to ask the same question, the same answer (correct, no answer or lie) is given again.
Telekinesis Sphere
- 0 SP:Telekinesis: As a standard action you can use telekinesis to lift one unattended object or willing creature within Close range and move it up to 20 ft, + 5 ft per 5 caster levels. The object levitates as long as you concentrate, have line of sight, and the object remains within Close range.
The objects and creatures you may lift are restricted by size; the largest object you can lift is given in the chart below. This assumes the object is made from a dense material, such as stone. Objects made of lighter materials, mostly open space, or reduced to 1/2 weight with the lighten talent of the enhancement sphere count as being one size category smaller, while weightless objects count as being 2 size categories smaller for this purpose.
Table: Object Size
CL______Object Size_____Sample Object
1st_____Diminutive______Dagger
3rd_____Tiny____________Candelabra
5th_____Small___________Heavy Shield
8th_____Medium__________Cage 11th____Large___________Statue 15th____Huge____________Wagon 20th____Gargantuan______Catapult 25th____Colossal________Ship
Your telekinesis is simple and cannot perform dexterous actions (tying a knot, opening a book, turning a key, etc.). Any object you control with telekinesis has a touch AC of 10 + your casting ability modifier + any size modifier, and a CMD of 10 + your caster level + your casting ability modifier + the object’s size modifier.
You gain the following special uses of telekinesis when you gain this sphere:
- +1 SP:Sustained Force: You may, as a free action, spend a spell point to no longer need to concentrate to maintain lifting a particular object for up to 1 minute per caster level. You may give a sustained force simple orders (float in the air, go north, follow a target) that it obeys to the best of its ability. Changing a sustained force’s orders is a move action. You cannot sustain combat-related uses of telekinesis (combat maneuvers, bludgeons, etc.), nor complicated tasks (make a wagon load itself with stones and move them to another location, etc.).
- +1 SP:Hostile Lift: You may spend a spell point to lift an unwilling creature with telekinesis. The target is allowed a Will save to negate this effect, plus an additional Will save each round the effect is maintained.
If a hostile lift is sustained with Sustained Force, it only lasts until the target succeeds at its save. A creature may suffer falling damage if they successfully save while floating high in the air.
- 0 SP:Bludgeon: Once per turn when lifting an object with telekinesis, you can spend its remaining movement to strike a creature or object within its square. When you use a lifted creature or object to strike another creature or object (moving the object into the target’s square and ramming them), you must succeed at an attack roll using your base attack bonus plus your casting ability modifier against the target. On a successful hit, the target and the bludgeon take damage depending on the bludgeon’s size. If the bludgeon is a weapon, the attack deals appropriate damage for that weapon (bolts and arrows are treated as daggers for this purpose). Since weapons are designed to deal damage, they do not suffer damage if used as a bludgeon.
Table: Object Damage
Object Size Damage Dealt
Fine____________1
Diminutive______1d2
Tiny____________1d3
Small___________1d4
Medium__________1d6
Large___________1d8
Huge____________2d6
Gargantuan______3d6
Colossal________4d6
- 0 SP:Catch: If using telekinesis on a projectile or thrown object within your size limit (often as a readied action), you may stop the attack from dealing damage. The originator of the attack (the creature who threw the projectile, etc.) is allowed a Will save to negate this ability. After catching an object, you may move it as normal for your telekinesis.
- Dancing Weapon: When using telekinesis to lift an object, that object counts as a melee weapon under your control. Allies may use it to flank, and if you possess the Flair talent, you may apply melee feats such as Power Attack to your actions with that bludgeon (you cannot treat a bludgeon as both a melee and a ranged weapon at the same time; you may apply either melee attack feats or ranged attack feats to an individual bludgeon, but not both). In addition, you may also add your casting ability modifier to all damage rolls made with a bludgeon.
- Idle Concentration: You may choose to maintain concentration on your telekinesis as a swift action. However, targets of your telekinesis remain motionless while you concentrate on them this way, hovering in place. You cannot move them, use them to bludgeon, or direct them to perform tasks. Dancing Weapons that hover do not threaten their range or provide flanking bonuses, and you may not apply the benefits of Telekinetic Crush to hovering targets. In addition, this talent cannot be used to concentrate on a Hostile Lift.
- Increased Range: Increase the range of your telekinesis by one step (Close to Medium, Medium to Long). You may select this talent multiple times. The effects stack.
- Powerful Telekinesis: Increase the maximum sized object or creature you may affect with telekinesis by 1 size category.
- Weaponize: You may attack your enemies with pure telekinetic force. By using your telekinesis as if you were lifting an object, you may make bludgeon attacks and deal bludgeoning or slashing damage, dealing damage as a bludgeon of the size you specify, up to your telekinesis size limit. If you possess the Dancing Weapon talent, you may treat this bludgeon attack as if it was made with a weapon you have proficiency with.
Illusion Sphere
- 0 SP:Trick: As a standard action, you may create small, simple illusions called tricks, which persist for 1 minute per level or until dismissed.
- 0 SP:Effects: You may create unconvincing illusions. This is the same as creating an illusion (see below) and can include all senses you can affect through Illusion talents, except it is obviously fake (i.e., it is translucent, unrealistic, etc.), requiring no one to make a save to disbelieve. However, the effects can still be used to create distractions, display images, draw a map, or be used for entertainment. This counts as possessing the required tools to make any appropriate Perform check (such as creating a melody with the Audible Illusion talent).
- 0 SP:Alter: You may make minor changes to objects or creatures up to your Illusion maximum size, such as changing their color, making them appear clean or dirty, making writing appear, or other minor alterations. This counts as having a disguise kit when making Disguise checks (which take the usual time instead of a standard action), but such a disguise still counts as being magical for the purposes of detecting magic or for spells and effects that allow a target to see through magical effects and illusions.
- 1 SP:Illusion: As a standard action, you may spend a spell point to create a silent visual illusion within range for as long as you concentrate, to a maximum of 1 minute per caster level. You cannot move further away from the illusion than your illusion range while maintaining it through concentration, and the illusion is limited in size according to Table: Illusion Maximum Size. The image may be anything you may clearly imagine, and behaves according to your desires.
Table: Illusion Maximum Size
CL______Maximum Size____Size in cubes
1st_____Medium__________5 ft cube
3rd_____Large___________10 ft cube
5th_____Huge____________15 ft cube
8th_____Gargantuan______20 ft cube
11th____Colossal________30 ft cube
15th____Colossal+_______40 ft cube
20th____Colossal++______50 ft cube
25th____Colossal+++_____60 ft cube
Simply perceiving an illusion isn’t enough to detect it as fake, but any target who interacts with the illusion or carefully studies the area is allowed a Will save to disbelieve the image, recognizing it for what it is. Anyone who finds obvious evidence of trickery (ex: throws a rock through an illusionary wall) automatically disbelieves the illusion.
You may only create visual illusions although certain talents may be taken to add more senses. The more complex an illusion is, the more talents it requires to be convincing, with the chart below serving as a guideline and the GM serving as the final arbiter for what talents are required to create a specific illusion.
If creating an illusionary creature, your illusion has an attack bonus equal to your caster level + your casting ability modifier, and a touch armor class equal to 10 + its size modifier + 1/2 your caster level + your casting ability modifier. An illusionary creature may provide a flanking bonus against targets who fail to disbelieve it. Any creature who strikes an illusion in combat automatically disbelieves it.
Warp Sphere
- X SP:Teleport: You can spend a standard action to teleport yourself and up to a heavy load to any place within Close range. Alternately, you may teleport a touched willing creature and their carried equipment instead of yourself. You may spend a spell point to increase your teleport range to Medium instead of Close. You must have line of sight to your destination.
- 0 SP:Bend Space: Talents marked (space) grant you ways of bending and folding space. Bending space requires a standard action, and you must be touching the target or location to be affected.
- X SP:Darkness: As a standard action, you may create a sphere of darkness with a radius of up to 10 ft + 5 ft per 2 caster levels, centered anywhere within Medium range. This darkness radiates from a central point, and cannot extend through walls. You must concentrate to maintain this sphere, but you may always spend 1 spell point as a free action to make the darkness last for 1 minute per level without concentration. You must remain within Medium range of the darkness to sustain it through concentration.
In this darkness, bright light (including daylight) becomes dim light, imposing a 20% miss chance to attacks. Normal light and dim light become absolute darkness. Sources of normal light only produce dim light in a 5-foot radius, and sources of dim light disappear. This is not subject to Spell Resistance, but creatures with Darkvision may see in this darkness as normal. You may always dismiss one of your darkness effects as a free action.
Talents designated as (darkness) add additional effects to a sphere of darkness. Only one such talent may be applied to an individual sphere of darkness, but areas of darkness with different effects may overlap. Individual darkness effects do not stack with themselves.
If a Light sphere effect is created inside a darkness effect, the creator of the Light sphere effect must pass a magic skill check against the creator of the darkness effect. If the check succeeds, the Light sphere effect functions normally. Otherwise, it functions as any other light source, as described above.
- 0 SP:Meld: (Meld) talents allow the caster to grant himself and others the ability to interact with darkness in new ways. The caster must touch a target as a standard action to grant them the benefits of a (meld) talent.
- - +1 SP:Feed on Darkness (meld): You may spend a spell point to grant a target fast healing 1 for 1 minute per caster level. This only functions so long as the target remains within an area of your darkness.
Skills:
4+int 5 +1 race
Acrobatics (Dex) +11 =1+3 +3 DEX * +4Cm
Appraise (Int) +5 =0+0 +5 INT
Bluff (Cha) +13 =3+3 +3 CHA +1T; +3F
Craft (Int) +5 =0+0 +5 INT
Climb (Str) +0 =0+0 +0 STR * (can add INT)
Concentration (Int) +10* = MSB + INT +2 (+4 while grappled or to avoid AoO)
Diplomacy (Cha) +10 =3+3 +3 CHA +1T
Fly (Int) +5 =0+0 +5 INT
Intimidate (Cha) +8 =1+3 +3 CHA +1T
Knowledge (arcana) +10 =2+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (dungeon) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (Engineer) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (geography) +5 =0+0 +5 INT
Knowledge (history) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (local) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (nature) +5 =0+0 +5 INT
Knowledge (nobility) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (planes) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Knowledge (religion) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Linguistics (Int) +9 =1+3 +5 INT
Perception (Wis) +9 =3+3 +2 WIS +1/2lvl
Profession (Wis) +2 =0+0 +2 WIS
Sense Motive (Wis) +9 =3+3 +2 WIS +1/2lvl
Spellcraft (Int) +11 =3+3 +5 INT
Stealth (Dex) +9 =3+3 +3 DEX *
Ride (Dex) +3 =0+0 +3 DEX *
Swim (Str) +0 =0+0 +0 STR * (can add INT)
Zamiell was always a sorcerous sort. Early in his life he found he could move small things with his mind, will his body across short distances in the blink of an eye, and rob an area of light. It was under this auspice that he sought membership into a few mage's circles in the hopes of further refining his abilities, networking with like-minded people, and hopefully gain employment in his craft.
Mage's Circles tended to be funded by wealthy patrons or members of the state and perform tasks in exchange for resources, aiding in defense against threats that mundane soldiers can't, or researching specific topics at the behest of their patrons. He found that many circles would not take him in, as his skills were too weak and they wouldn't get a good return on their investment. Circles tended to look after their members well, providing a living space and food as needed as well as access to research materials.
However, one circle would accept nearly anyone, though few applied. He was warned away by the others, but in desperation he joined the Psijic Order. The reason why most people didn't join was immediately obvious to him when the Joining Ceremony began.
Zamiell and two others had joined at the same time, a man and a woman. The woman was joined first, as Zamiell and the other man watched. As she knelt before the officiant, a dagger was plunged into the flesh of her shoulder, between the shoulder blade and spine. Next, a small ornate box was opened and some manner of slime poured on the wound. To Zamiell's horror, the slime moved of its own accord, reaching in the wound with what looked to be tentacles and pulled the rest of its form inside the wound. A healer stepped up and sealed the wound, trapping the creature inside. The woman stood, disoriented and in pain, but with a smile on her face as her new brothers and sisters raised her arms in triumph.
The other man was next. His ceremony went much the same, but when the slime pulled itself into his wound, the man began to scream. One of the order present waved her hands with a look of disgust on her face, and silence fell over the man, though he still screamed. As Zamiell watched the man's face contort with pain and then eventually fall still, he was crabbed from behind by two other members of the order and dragged to the stage. The previous man fell over and the slime crawled out, reaching two tentacles up toward the officiant, who lowered the box for it to climb back in. Zamiell was made to kneel as the dead man was dragged away, and the knife was plunged into his back. The blade was so cold that he was immediately numbed and could only exhale in shock. The same slime that had killed the previous man was dumped onto his back and a warm, needling sensation cut through the cold. He felt a dull prodding within his chest cavity, and his vision began to cloud and grow dark. He was vaguely aware of the same sort of celebration accompanying his Joining as did the woman's, but he scarcely noticed. His mind was adrift in a sea of strange sensations, both physically and mentally, as he fell unconscious.
He awoke with a start to a voice in his head.
<<Wake up.>> "Huh?" <<You have been asleep for several days. While you slumbered, I have been busy.>> "Who are you?" <<My kind do not have names, at least not in the sense that your kind does, and you need not speak aloud to address me. My name is but a thought, for you to think of me is the same as you would call the name of one of your kind. You will converse with me by thought alone. You are my eyes and ears in this world.>> <<So you are a parasite?>> <<Not in the same manner as you think. We rely on other creatures to see, hear, and smell, but we do not take anything in return, as parasites do. We are no more parasites to you than the knight is to the horse he rides.>> <<So... Why are you in my head? For what purpose?>> <<Much the same as the caravan guard. We can see little of the world without using others as our mounts. We move slow, our senses are dull. When attached to the minds of higher beings, we set up psychic feedback loops that provide thoughts for our sustenance. We can repair broken connections in the mind or make existing connections more efficient, to the cognitive benefit of our mount. We make our mount stronger, that we may go farther and wider.>> <<And what of the "mounts" that die?>> <<The one you witnessed died of fright. From what I saw of his mind, he had heard tall tales of monsters from beyond the stars roughly matching our description and he feared being a "mind zombie", no amount of my reassurances would dissuade him.>> <<But you don't make thought zombies, then?>> <<Certain levels of control are within my power, but most trained in the arts of the mind are resistant or immune to such attempts. For those such as yourself, such abilities fall within your scope to access.>> <<So I am to make thought zombies for you?>> <<No. To do so would surely get you killed, and me with you. The means of control is merely a fail-safe when you approach your natural end. The gifts I bestow to you can call another close, befriend then, and then I will leave your form for theirs.>> <<So I am to be discarded like a lame horse?>> <<Yes. Nothing personal. If your mind is dead, I cannot sustain myself from your id feedback loop.>> <<I see. So... what now?>> <<I have increased the efficiency of your mental processes, but you will need to become accustomed to the new abilities that come with it. You need to practice, and study.>> <<Well, I suppose that is what I came here for.>>
Zamiell finally began his training in earnest, and discovered that his ability to move things with his mind increased. The being inside him also bestowed upon him subtle mental abilities such as the ability to read thoughts and suggest courses of action to people. Coming into stride as a relatively powerful mage, Zamiell set out to see what manner of adventure he could get involved in to test his skills and return knowledge to the Psijics.
