Mantike is one of the arts of Low Magic, it deals primarily with the modification of bodily processes. Advanced students of Mantike usually delve into Creation as a part of their teaching and their knowledge makes them excellent Flesh Forgers.

Field

Mantike covers a lot of different things though it primarily deals with enhancing the body in some manner or another. It may cover anything from causing wounds to heal faster or improve eyesight or anything of a similar note.

Adylheim itself sprang from the fruits of warfare; the mountains and plains of the civilized world crafted by divine hands from the bones and skin of Primus himself. Their mortal offspring quickly followed in their steps. While the origins of warfare are obscured behind the mists of time, even the most ignorant peasants can describe the martial traditions of each kingdom. The earth-shaking charge of the Arameian knights. The countless banners of the Andragorian armies. The crazed axe-wielding Huscarls of Starkwater. Unfortunately for dreamy youths across Adylheim, most citizens will only perhaps wield a crudely crafted spear as part of the local militia. They might, however, engage in a form of combat just as old as warfare: unarmed combat. Blood sports are popular ways for the poor to pass their time and perhaps win a small purse. Nobles also occasionally engage in wrestling and sparring under the tutelage of trained masters. The more foppish do so for social glory. The martially inclined do so out of pragmatic necessity. Swords are left in armories and daggers lost in night time struggles. Arms and legs are always available and oft provide the last line of defense against an assassin.

Documenting every single unarmed martial art would be an impossible task. Each of the major schools detailed in this article have hundreds and perhaps even thousands of local variants and crass imitators. It should also be noted that a life dedicated to the pursuits of ‘unarmed’ combat rarely only encompass the unaided movements of the body. When fighting for survival—and in the dangerous world of Adylheim even the most innocuous fight can quickly turn fatal—most masters recognize the value of that special edge. Whether a lead weight clenched in a fist of a boxer or the drab disguises worn by Andragorian assassin matters little. What matters, when all is said and done, is victory.

Ghosts are the insubstantial spirits of persons who have died. Freed of their flesh they can roam the world without needing to eat. Please note that Ghosts are currently only available as a race choice for PCs that died in character.

Physical Characteristics

Ghosts are insubstantial creatures who are extremely limited in their interaction with the real world. They have substance in the Spirit Realm, but are not able to easily affect the world. However, older ghosts can learn to not only appear as visions in the real world, but also move objects and take possession of mortals.

Organisation & Goals

Ghosts often spend their time seeking revenge on those who took their life or making sure to wrap up any business they had left before they die. Those who choose to linger around as a ghost will often not leave before this task is complete.

Scrying is one of the more subtle and disparate arts of magic. It contains mainly spells which deal with gathering information in some manner or another. It can cover anything from detecting energies that are not usually seen, to astral projection, to finding someone, to gaining glimpses of the future or far away places.

Location in Scrying

Location can be a tricky thing in scrying. As Prime Words are the main interface in many spells, it requires knowing distances and height from the central area from which the spells are cast. As such, mages often set aside Scrying rooms where they have extensive records of such things.

This can be got around by the use of True Names or items which have Resonance with a specific person or area. Of course, since areas rarely have True Names it is hard to focus on them, making spells which focus on people, rather than specific places somewhat easier to cast.

More advanced scrying spells may use Numen rather than Prime Words and True Names to choose a target, and may therefore forego this problem.

Necromancy, sometimes also referred to as Fetish Magic or Black Magic, centers on communing with and raising the dead. Unique among practitioners of Low Magic, the masters of undeath bind their Numen inside a semi-corporeal object called a fetish with which they control their summoned creatures.

History

According to legend, the very first instance of necromancy occurred when Maia, goddess of Death, summoned the shades of fallen gods to fight alongside their living brethren against the Chaos giants. Her brethren were understandably disturbed by her display of power; forbidding the Grey Lady from ever practicing the dark art on her fellow deities. Their edict, however, had no purchase on the created races. Maia soon began rewarding her mortal worshipers with a measure of control over the bodies and souls of the deceased, trading worldly powers for sacrifices of luxuries and art to enlighten her dreary realm. While necromancy has slowly evolved away from its divine origins, many would-be necromancers are careful to work sacrifices to Maia into their spells.