Overview | Edeiology | Setting | History | NPCs

A more detailed history to illustrate the world. As the Edeia Order plays a significant role, they will be mentioned often.

This information is not required to have a well-rounded and developed character, but if you wish to use this information to contextualize your character more, you may.

Ancient Ages / Age of Magic

Early world history can be considered nearly identical to our own mundane world history, though Edeia were present in this world. Some would walk among humans, some would be worshipped as gods or consider themselves gods, some would disguise themself as human and walk among society.

In the earlier Ancient Ages, there were numerous scattered societies that may each have their own culture and behavior towards magic. Ideation (the development of idea magic) was quite rare then, considering generally lower densities of population, and it was rare for more than one or a few to exist in one of the smaller societies. It was even rarer to Actualize, as there was a poor understanding of the nature of Edeia and most were led by instinct. Many fell into external pressures and manipulations, thus never developing identified regulation for their own identity.

Despite the fact that magic was known, many lived their lives without interacting with it a significant amount. Many would treat it how we might treat news of fantastical celestial events, amazing discoveries, terrible disasters, etc. It may affect them emotionally to know the events occur, but many are not touched directly.

Sometime after larger societies began to be established, the Edeia known as Order Actualized. They played a role in the shadows of various societies, though often abandoned them eventually for some reason or another, perhaps disillusionment at the ideals and policies of those societies. Order generally did not publicly reveal themself as a personal choice, but instead disguised themself to observe these civilizations from within.

Over the years, they made contact with other Edeia and began organizing research into their kind. This involved fairly small "research convergences," often involving the same expanding group, where they shared their findings. This group was the first to begin using the term "Edeia," though it would take some time for the term to spread. You are free to have your Edeia partake in these earlier convergences if you wish.

Order began to understand much more about their world, their magic, Edeia, and themself. Their abilities grew more powerful as they explored both their identity and their capabilities, and soon, they began to look into ways to establish a unified society.

One day, they sought out Possibility and held it for a significant span of time to see into an infinity of possibilities. It was enough to make Order need a few decades to piece their mind back together, but they came out of it perfectly well and with detailed knowledge of countless choices and how they would affect the future. They determined the best action was to divide the magic from the mundane, separating Edeia and their magic from human society.

The Convergence of Secrecy

This is the major convergence that marked the transition from the Age of Magic to the Age of Secrecy. Prior to it, Order and their collaborators went around the world to talk to numerous Edeia, magical individuals, magical communities/groups, etc. They informed those others of their plans and the arguments/rationale behind it, to attempt to make the process as smooth and agreeable as possible.

There were numerous arguments in favor:

• Many magical individuals were being singled out and persecuted, abused, killed/hunted down (witch hunting as an example), manipulated, taken advantage of, etc.

• They did not distinguish between ideated individuals and those with other (typically extradimensional) magic at the time, but it was theorized that all magical individuals had the potential to become "Edeia" but could not do so due to their circumstances. Very few did Actualize at the time, and many thought the potential to become a "greater being" was separate from magic ability. Even those who were loved, worshiped, encouraged to develop their magic would continue to only have weak magic—they did not understand it at the time, but this was due to external pressures being counterproductive to the self-determination necessary for Actualization.

• The nature of their kind was poorly understood, and these misunderstandings have led to misery, catastrophe, all sorts of terrible things. Separation will allow time to safely accumulate their knowledge before revealing themselves with a full understanding of what they are.

• Humanity has much potential in a world without magic. Their brilliance will shine when they must harness the world with their own mundane power, and when reunion happens, the collision of magic and science will unlock unbelievable magitechnology that can help create something closer to an ideal world.

• Order has seen the Possibilities of the future, and this road will lead to a better reunited society.

And much more than what I can think of. The result was that a majority of Edeia agreed to secrecy, and Order's Contract of Secrecy was agreed upon.

Age of Secrecy

During the Age of Secrecy, Order and those affiliated with them are primarily concerned with keeping the separation of magic and mundane, and understanding all the intricacies of Edeiology.

During this time, they have something of a "team" — Edeia who closely work with them and collaborate with them personally. There are mainly two groups: those who work to maintain secrecy, and those who help them crack the secrets of Edeiology. Over the years, they came to be known as the Orderly among Edeia. Saturne, Roscha, Pacific, and Data are notable members that joined throughout the years; you can see the members here. At first, this was more of an unofficial status of being closely affiliated with Order, though around the 1700s, at the behest of some others, Order made it official. Please ask if you wish for your Edeia to be part of the Orderly. I may be picky and may not accept, as this is a more personal relation.

There are also those who vary in their level of affiliation; many Edeia simply seek out new Edeia to inform them of the contract of secrecy and ask for agreement. These are unofficially called "Seekers." Those new Edeia could also choose to take that role not long after, as any who agree to the contract can ask for others to agree to it as well. You can have your Edeia in this role without consultation; I encourage you to add them to the Edeia Lore Roles spreadsheet. You can see the spreadsheet for who you might be interested in contacting your own character as well.

Contract of Secrecy

The contract of secrecy is a magical contract created with Order's power.

Order can create a sort of "social contract," which can be written down physically or simply exist as a record in Order's Abstraction. In this case, it was a record that existed in their Abstraction; this record can be "summoned" by an individual who has agreed to the contract, and ask for others to agree to it as well—as is the case when one finds a new Edeia and asks them to agree to it.

The social contract applies to all who exist as part of the same society that Order is part of; Order considered themself part of the "society of magic," which is a rather loose connection but sufficient enough that any who consider themself magic/supernatural/etc. will at least be somewhat under the effects. Its effects are significantly stronger for those who personally agree to the contract. Order will be able to know of any violations to it, and the severity and nature of the offense. They can locate those who have violated the contract and instantly teleport to their location as well, though they may not necessarily do so. Other failure conditions may be added, such as temporary loss of ability, though Order did not add this so that more would agree to it. Those who agree to it can revoke their agreement at any time, though Order will be aware of it.

The contract terms mainly required that all magical and supernatural beings do not reveal themselves to mundane society. There is some leeway for minor sightings and personal relationships, in which only a few are aware of the Edeia. Society would not generally believe the ramblings of only one individual or a small group that may also be in shock over the event, after all. Still, Order is aware of every breach, and if it becomes problematic, Order (or the Orderly) may take action.

If a group of individuals became magical in nature after an incident, they would be brought into the fold of secrecy and asked to agree to the contract; they would usually be offered a Sanctuary. If the effects can be undone or obfuscated, that would be done and the group would continue on with life.

As a note, Edeia still have considerable freedom in causing help or harm to the world so long as they do not reveal magic/Edeia to the world. In the Age of Secrecy, Order cares less about the state of human society, and more about the potential society that would be realized in the Age of Reunion. That said, other Edeia may have moral compunctions about letting "evil" Edeia run loose and try to call a convergence to address those Edeia.

Within the contract are options for secrecy enforcement; details are below.

Secrecy Enforcement

There are generally five main options: hiding in society, Sanctuary residence, Abstraction residence, Abstraction containment, or Prism isolation. If an Edeia has some other method of isolation, such as by creating pocket dimensions or something similar, they may offer that on their own, but in the general case and if it is Order/the Orderly, the main five options are typically offered.

When an Edeia Actualizes, there is a pulse of energy that can be sensed by other Edeia. They will not know who it was or the precise location, but they can gather the general location and try to track down their energy; new Edeia are generally not good at masking their presence from other Edeia and are found quickly to be informed of Secrecy.

Some Edeia are especially good at sensing and may be able to detect ideated individuals, though the strength of detection depends on both distance and the development status of their Idea.

Hiding in Society

Some Edeia and magical/supernatural individuals may choose to still walk among humans in society. This is allowed so long as they keep the risk of exposure down. If they are judged to be too risky, they may be asked to change to one of the separation options.

Sanctuary Residence

A Sanctuary is the result of the power of the Edeia known as Sanctuary. These are metaphysical distortions of reality that isolate a part of the world from undesired outside contact. For example, a Sanctuary could make humans take a turn without realizing it, lose their sense of direction, interfere with any devices (including navigational and recording devices), etc. The Bermuda Triangle is roughly the location of one Sanctuary.

They are most often in natural areas, such as forests, mountains, underwater areas, deserts, arctic areas, etc. They may be spatially expanded, in that the Sanctuary is larger than the area it covers. There may be magical characteristics in the Sanctuary, typically in the older ones, such as aggregations of magic particles at night (that look a bit like fireflies) and aurora-like displays of light among other things. Magic flora (magic taking the forms of plants such as flowers, mushrooms, trees, etc.) is very common, though more prevalent in older Sanctuaries, and can be consumed for sustenance of any kind of organic creature that needs sustenance. The overall biome, geography, and weather patterns will generally match the area, however. They can be extremely vast, perhaps spanning an entire mountain range, or quite small.

Order, the Orderly, or any other Edeia that is aware of Sanctuaries (all those who agree to the contract are, as Sanctuaries are described within) may bring a magical individual to a Sanctuary. Most commonly, these are ideated or otherwise magical individuals that are discovered by an Edeia; if they hide their power, they may escape discovery. Many do.

If Edeia are misbehaving, one possibility is that they may be exiled to Sanctuaries. Order does not need to be present for that convergence, but their power together with Sanctuary's is necessary to create this condition. The affected Edeia or other individual would be able to teleport from one to another, to their Abstraction, and to different dimensions, but they would no longer be able to directly interact with mundane society until Secrecy ended or until they were able to appeal their exile.

In some Sanctuaries, there may be various kinds of housing—often magically constructed, but not always. There may be some microcosms of society, though these are generally just small communities. A magical rule within Sanctuaries is that there is no conflict or violence; the ideation of malicious/aggressive thoughts is possible, but they would be physically prevented from acting on them or speaking them out. What is not prevented is civil discussion in regards to disagreements, and in fact the magic may make the thoughts come out in as civil a way as possible.

These microcosms are generally self-regulating; Order does not usually involve themself in them. Once the Age of Reunion begins, most Sanctuary residents choose to reintegrate with society, but some may choose to stay. If most of those within a Sanctuary agree to it, the Sanctuary magic may be dissolved and they may continue to live in the same location without the effects of a Sanctuary. Those who still wish to hide away may be transported to a different Sanctuary if they wish.

To enter a Sanctuary, you must either fulfill the "conditions" of that particular Sanctuary, be consciously brought inside by one who is a "resident" of that Sanctuary, or be teleported inside by an Edeia. Sanctuary created numerous Sanctuaries in the transition to Secrecy with the condition of entry being "of magical or supernatural nature."

Sometimes, ideated individuals may stumble inside—even if they are not yet aware of their magic. If there is a group of mundane individuals with them, they would easily get separated as the magic takes hold. It could be a situation like looking away from them one moment, and then they vanish, or if they get some distance their voices become more distant before fading entirely. If the individual goes back the way they came, they would exit the Sanctuary and may be able to reunite, but there is also an aura of comfort and safety felt upon entering.

Some Sanctuaries were created to house entire existing magical communities as well; this could be a case of a community of ideated, non-Actualized individuals, a community of beings from another dimension, etc. Please ask if you want to have a Sanctuary for a large community. It will almost always be allowed, but I'd like to make sure everything fits. Note that communities of ideated individuals are relatively rare, as relatively few individuals would be ideated and they would often hide their power to avoid being singled out in whatever community they were born in or otherwise part of.

Abstraction Residence

This refers particularly to the case of non-Edeia residing in another Edeia's Abstraction. Any Edeia is welcome to offer their Abstraction to house one, a few, or even numerous individuals, so long as it is by their own will. As a note, food can be grown in Abstractions, but generally, they must have originated from the mundane plane and brought to the Abstraction to grow. The magic ambience is capable of sustaining individuals to some extent, but they would become unhealthy without physical sustenance.

You are free to use this with any of your Edeia and characters. Order does not regulate this much, though if it is discovered that an Edeia is abusing those who reside with them, then Order may partake in deciding the punishment. Usually it would be another Edeia who discovers this and calls a convergence, rather than it being Order themself.

Abstraction Containment / Abstraction Jail

In relevance to Secrecy, this is an option typically reserved for those who have clearly committed large-scale or multiple smaller offenses that require compensatory action (erasing memories, disappearing a group into a Sanctuary, media manipulation, etc.). Any Edeia who ascribes to Secrecy may call a judgement convergence to decide their fate, though Order can be present.

Usually, Abstraction containment can range from one year all the way to "until Secrecy ends," though the latter case is generally only used if they have been contained multiple times with no improvement.

During containment, the Edeia has restrictions on leaving their Abstraction. They can do anything they want inside, and others may visit them, but they cannot leave to return to the mundane plane of Ideation. It can be decided in the convergence whether other Edeia can visit, and if the visitors are restricted to certain individuals or anyone; it can also be decided if the containment keeps them only from returning to the mundane plane of Ideation - allowing them to go to other dimensions - or if they are completely sealed in their Abstraction.

The process of putting someone in Abstraction containment involves first the calling of a convergence to judge them. If Abstraction containment is decided, then a group of Edeia will volunteer to go after the Edeia to apprehend them. Once the offending Edeia is immobilized or dissipated (if they exhaust themself by using too much power or being hit by too much magic; they will re-form in their Abstraction), the Edeia present use their powers of metaphysical manipulation to seal the Edeia in their Abstraction.

Unrelated to Secrecy, Edeia may call convergences for Abstraction containment if they have a problem with what some other Edeia does. Some may have differing feelings about how "bad" Abstraction containment is, and may be more or less willing to support the punishment.

Prism Isolation

This is specifically an ability of Order that they use quite rarely; if you wish for this to be used for your character lore, you must ask me and prepare an argument for why this would be resorted to. Order does not advertise this ability but may bring it up in a convergence if they feel it may be a suitable option.

In Order's Abstraction, there are prisms made of the same black material as their "wings." Each of these can hold a sort of simulation of a world or just an empty void. Order may use these to isolate those who need protection, or to contain those who would be a threat to their order. They also keep simulations of different environments and creatures. The plants and animals that exist in these prisms are not sentient; they are essentially magical "programs." Only Order can freely enter and exit these prisms, though they can build metaphysical entrances and exits as well.

Organic beings in these Prisms are physically in a form of stasis, but in the "simulation" they may experience a psychosomatic hunger/thirst and they are able to consume "simulated" sustenance. You may consider the whole thing to be similar to the Matrix, if you are familiar with it. Some may not even be aware they are in a simulation, if they were put inside while unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.

In terms of enforcement, this is generally used as a last resort or if the individual is personally attacking Order.

For preservation and protection, this may be offered to larger communities that want to live in isolation without any disturbance whatsoever. When the Age of Reunion begins, Order will go through the process of reintroducing each one back into society, typically starting by "simulating" an avatar of themself that explains the situation.

Order does also have simulated environments for numerous creatures thought to be extinct.

Edeiology Research

Much of Order's focus was on collecting, organizing, and conducting research on Edeiology. They would call a research convergence (as a reminder, the nature of the convergence can be specified abstractly in the call) every now and then, typically at least one month and up to one year, for all Edeia engaging in the efforts to share their knowledge and make new conclusions and theories.

Any who wanted to participate in the research could; you are welcome to have your Edeia partaking of these research convergences without consulting me. The method of research could be by trying to understand their own self, interviewing others, observing other Edeia (typically with informed consent), observing humans/ideated individuals in the wild (usually without being informed), whatever you might think of. Order may even accept more morally questionable methods of gathering information (they do not enjoy needless cruelty, but if the results prove to be very enlightening, they may consider certain methods to be tolerable), but other Edeia present might strongly object, and if most are against that method of collection, that individual may be told not to pursue that method.

Outside of the convergences, Order would often be in their Abstraction, organizing floating structures representing their notes, and creating simulations to test various theories. Some Edeia may be closer collaborators, and they might meet in Order's Abstraction or Order would join them in theirs, though please ask if you wish for one of your Edeia to be a closer collaborator.

Age of Reunion

The Age of Reunion is the era in which the magic is reunited with the mundane, and, by 2030, society enjoys a vast peace and prosperity.

Order tends to keep to themself in their Abstraction, delegating tasks to others. It is rare for them to be randomly seen in public. They do often spend time with Pacific, who has a residence in a city, and sometimes they will wander among society to observe and enjoy the world, but otherwise they do not appear in the mundane plane.

The Orderly still exist to some extent, but roles have largely been absorbed into the United Council.

Transition to Reunion

Preparations for transition began approximately sixteen years before the Age of Reunion began, around 2000. Order, the Orderly, and others of varying affiliation began discussing their action plans in a number of convergences. They then went around the world to inform magical individuals and groups and collaborate with them to prepare for reunion.

A small group of individuals, including Order, some of the Orderly, and trusted (to handle things smoothly) individuals began to reach out to governments and other authorities to reveal themselves gradually and collaborate with them as well. Others were also given "permits" under the contract to gradually reveal themselves to mundane society, generally as "hints" — for instance, letting one human or a small group of humans spot them or even film them in the wild before vanishing. Sightings and discussions popped up all over the internet, and Data along with others would monitor and guide these discussions. You can have your Edeia partaking in this as long as they would perform well; Order was extremely careful about who was given "permits."

Order worked closely with Pacific to ensure the proceedings went as civilly and agreeably as possible, though it was likely there was some amount of friction; only by 2030 did the height of the Age of Reunion begin with the establishment of the supergovernment and United Council.

In the early years of Reunion, Order and the Orderly worked closely with all sorts of governments to integrate magic into societies, begin research into magitechnology, improve policies, etc. One of the first things was to make minimum living needs available without cost to all, including housing and food. Sanctuary was able to make spatially expanded residences that were larger inside than outside, or allow building in areas larger than the space they took up—under the effects of Sanctuary magic, of course. Other Edeia may have been able to contribute with their own abilities as well. Various Edeia were able to use their Idea magic to provide plenty of food and destroy waste.

(As the environment improved, Order would sometimes release some animals thought extinct, preserved in their Prisms, though they would always keep a population just in case.)

For the average individual, the cost of housing and food would drop precipitously before becoming free by around 2020. Debts would be cleared, and education quickly became free as well, with some Edeia offering to teach. There is an Ideation Academy that is not physically based anywhere, but comprises of Edeia and other individuals who collaborate and teach others, often within Abstractions. You are free to have your Edeia be part of this, whether permanently or temporarily.

Once most of the major issues with mundane society were remedied, Order began moving towards their goal of establishing a supergovernment and creating a world closer to ideal. There were small meetings with the Orderly as well as larger meetings including other Edeia and government officials, and even larger meetings with anyone who wished to attend. Pacific was often present to make sure opinions would be expressed calmly and civilly. You may freely have your Edeia attend the largest meetings without asking me, and you can have them attend the government meetings if they are contributing to Order's efforts to build a better society.

Eventually, their efforts bear fruit and the supergovernment is established.