Iconoclasm

Beyond Theosis is Iconoclasm.   Iconoclasm is a dangerous, mysterious and poorly understood ousia that’s believed to originate from outside our universe. It seems to be diametrically opposed to Theosis, to the extent of being toxic and inherently destructive to divine beings (such as Nadrakians). Theosis is broken down, blocked, stymied or otherwise defeated by it.   Everything else it touches seems to be transformed in some way towards causing destruction and ruin, which many say clearly indicates an evil power to be avoided.   Unfortunately for the Rodinians however, they have no choice in the matter. Long before the Blood Harvest of Archnadrakian Balaine, Rodinians and Nadrakians had a war which Rodinia badly lost. Seeking a path to triumph, they entered into a pact with an entity calling itself the Survivor who gave to them the power of Iconoclasm.   This power, much like Theosis that would later be given to them from the Nadrakians, seeped into their Souls and transformed them. It’s therefore a part of them now, for better or worse.  

Prerequisites of Iconoclasm

  Much like Theosis, Iconoclasm has some requirements. A soul needs to be instilled with an Iconoclasm hypostasis, otherwise it remains out of reach. It’s not a naturally occurring ousia found in our universe however, and doesn’t come from divine beings either such as the Creator or the Nadrakians. The only place in the universe where it’s found is within the souls of Rodinians who allegedly received it in a pact with the Survivor, and the Ninth Caste Nadrakians who received it during their conception from Balaine. Balaine himself returned with the ousia in his soul after disappearing for 21 days, but it's currently unknown how he obtained it.   The fact it can be given to another soul however like Theosis (in contravention of the idea that dyne can’t be donated between souls) lends it towards the idea of being another form of divine ousia.   It also requires a far higher threshold of spiritual power before it can be used. When the Rodinians first absorbed this power, they were not then powerful enough to use it. It lay dormant within them for eons until they absorbed the power of Theosis from the Nadrakians. The jump in power they received from meeting the requirements for Theosis immediately propelled them beyond the threshold requirement for Iconoclasm.    

The Praxis of Iconoclasm

  Iconoclasm doesn't possess a clearly defined guiding principle such as Theosis' high commandment. The nature of Iconoclasm as a fickle ousia suggests it lacks a central governing principle. Throughout its usage however, there have been two prominent features appearing in more cases than not. Those are the concepts of sacrifice and struggle. Those who abide under these concepts find Iconoclasm responding better to their wishes.  

Sacrifice

  It's been observed that sacrificing something of value can strengthen Iconoclastic incantations, and temporarily increase the power of the Iconoclastic hypostasis within the soul – thereby increasing the soul's overall power for a time. This would increase the power of the soul's other powers too, such as Psikinetics, Theosis and their respective Auras.   The value of the sacrifice impacts the amount of power gained, and how long this increase lasts for. The sacrifice can be anything, so long as it's of value. People have sacrificed blood, riches, sentimental possessions, limbs, and even their own lives. There're debates over what sacrifices are more impactful, and whether circumstances affect how impactful a sacrifice would be. It's believed that something as simple as devoting one's time to a cause even counts, as one is sacrificing their time, but if this is true then its effect is surely small.  

Struggle

  Iconoclasm is also observed to surge within individuals who face a task that's greater than they are – specifically when it's a struggle against individuals, groups, or organizations. This notion has earned Iconoclasm the phrases "Magic of the Masses", or "Rioters Magic" to those in power. The power of the Iconoclastic hypostasis within a person's soul seems to swell in proportion to how outmatched they are in facing their adversary. In many cases, when battles or confrontations lasted long enough, the power disparity between two unequal souls has been witnessed to disappear entirely.   The larger the gap in power, the greater the rate of power increase is, and it possesses a momentum that carries the underdog soul over and above the power of the soul they were originally outmatched against. This then flips the equation, and now the adversary's soul begins to benefit from their Iconoclastic hypostasis growing in power to compensate. The end result is rapid exchanging of advantage and disadvantage in spiritual power until there's a victor.   This is why Rodinian and Ninth Caste Nadrakian combat techniques, tactics and strategies among themselves focus on quick, decisive takedowns of weaker opponents, pushing these opponents to psikinetic burnout and physical incapacitation before they've any opportunity to take advantage of a billowing Iconoclastic hypostasis. In battles between more evenly matched opponents, advantages are sought after and pressed as soon as identified, because who has the advantage is constantly shifting in battle.  

Other Guiding Principles

  It's been suggested that fighting against souls originally created from the Theosis ousia (I.e. Nadrakians) also triggers the Iconoclastic hypostasis to grow. Proving this is difficult however, as it would require consistent match-ups between Rodinians and Ninth Caste Nadrakians of similar spiritual power, which is difficult to arrange. The Iconoclastic hypostasis is so variable otherwise that trying to measure this is difficult.   Additional speculation exists wherein the Iconoclastic ousia is believed to diminish within entities who either are divine (of the Theosis ousia), or who hold themselves to be gods in some other capacity.    

Effects of Iconoclasm

  When a soul obtains this power, it’s transformed into a hybridized fusion of two different ousia, increasing its power. When the threshold for using Iconoclasm is reached, the soul experiences a large increase in its power. This is similar to Theosis, but as mentioned above the bar is higher for Iconoclasm to be activated.   When the Rodinians obtained Theosis, they were immediately able to use Iconoclasm as result of the jump in power they received from Theosis. The activation of Iconoclasm then caused their power to surge again, bewildering the Nadrakians who provided them with the power of Theosis. They couldn't understand what caused such a massive spike in the Rodinian’s spiritual power, as they were unaware of the Iconoclasm already lurking deep within their souls.   And the jump was huge. There's a similar non-linear combination effect as there is with Theosis transforming a soul, in that it’s not additive but multiplicative. Ordinarily it would be with the square power, but that’s only if there’s two different ousia – Psikinetics and Theosis, or Psikinetics and Iconoclasm.   With three ousia, the soul becomes a trihypostatic soul, and experiences cubic scaling. Thus, any Rodinian that could lift 10 kg with their telekinesis was now able to lift 1000 kg after being given Theosis and activating Iconoclasm within them.   Additionally, their Psikinetics gained further primacy. As trihypostatic souls, their Psikinetics could easily resist and overcome those of dihypostatic souls, and utterly crushed those of monohypostatic souls. Most importantly however was their ability to now fight on equal footing with the Ninth Caste Nadrakians, who were also trihypostatic.   Another notable aspect of Iconoclasm is the characteristic red electrical discharges, and the transformed halos. When Iconoclasm is being used, the individual’s body crackles with red arcs and discharges of malevolent dyne. This can also appear randomly in the world around them if their spiritual aura has been released.   The halo that forms from their Theosis powers gains a second ring of Iconoclastic spiritual dyne. This Iconoclastic halo is usually larger and rests above the Theosis halo, and often resembles a crown. Its color tends to be from the warm end of the color spectrum – red, orange, yellow, etc.   Iconoclastic magic is split into Extants and Disruptions.  

Extants

  Iconoclastic extants are similar to those of Theosis, and principally arise from the fact that a soul possessing the Iconoclastic ousia will be at least dihypostatic in nature. It therefore possesses the extant traits of geometric spiritual scaling, primacy, and Telepathy.    

Disruptions

  Disruptions are extants unique to the Iconoclastic ousia. Like other extants, these are always active in any soul meeting the spiritual power requirements to activate the Iconoclastic hypostasis and then retain it in an awakened state. Disruptions can be applied to other spiritual effects as well, such as Vaalbaran invocations and ironically some powers from Theosis.  

Deicide

  Iconoclastic incantations are brutally effective against creatures of the divine Theosis ousia, namely Nadrakians. As Rodinians carry the Theosis ousia within them, they too are harmed greatly by these incantations to a much greater degree than any other type of magic or psikinetics, but to a lesser extent than Nadrakians are. The reason why Rodinians suffer less than Nadrakians is because Rodinians are fundamentally mortals, whilst Nadrakians are fundamentally divine.   Iconoclastic incantations act upon these entities as though there were no other forms of magic protecting them. They get stripped of their Theosis and psikinetic enhancements. A Magar's Lance for example will put a hole through them no matter how much psikinetic reinforcement their body possesses.  

Obfuscation

  Iconoclastic obfuscation is a disruption targeting a soul's ability to perform psikinetics and Theosis. It makes it harder to perform psikinetics effectively by obfuscating particle variables. The result is psikinetic reinforcement can be stripped by something as simple as a physical blow, which is how Rodinians and Nadrakians principally harm one another in battle. Obfuscation usually strips, in whole or in part, the Psikinetic Latch making their bodies indestructible. This allows energy to be imparted into the molecular and atomic bonds of their body, causing damage and forcing them to resort to less effective psikinetic reinforcement techniques (such as redistributing incoming energy elsewhere in the environment, which builds up psikinetic burn-out).   Obfuscation also interferes with the clairvoyant abilities of Theosis, making it far harder to observe entities carrying the Iconoclastic ousia. Viewing the future actions of a Rodinian or Ninth Caste Nadrakian using precognition, or observing them with remote viewing, or trying to sense their thoughts, is almost impossible. Instead, one needs to guess, infer, or extrapolate what they're doing - or going to do - by looking at the effects of their actions upon the world around them. You don't observe the rock thrown into the pond - you observe its ripples.  

Obliteration

  Dyne is said to be inviolate, incapable of erasure of destruction. Whilst it can disperse and thin-out throughout space, once created it will remain, forever.   In Iconoclasm however, this isn't an absolute. Iconoclasm possesses the ability to erase dyne, granting it the power to destroy or main a person's soul and therefore ruin their spiritual powers including psikinetics. It can also lobotomize them if most of their intellect is housed within their soul. This can erase planetary spiritual Auras too if used on a large enough scale, or destroy the spiritual lineage of a civilization and end their usage of psikinetics. The spiritual damage inflicted by this doesn't heal like psikinetic burn-out heals. It's permanent, and requires exceptionally advanced higher level rihypostatic psychism to mend.   As it can break down dyne, it can open up souls to spirit leeching.  

Iconoclastic Transfiguration

  When Iconoclasm is called upon, the invoker's spiritual aura becomes malevolent and bent towards destructive tendencies. It can become the opposite of its more benevolent form under Theosis, or extremely exaggerated to the point of being harmfully ironic. The halo of dyne changes to gain a second crown-like halo, usually dreadful in appearance.   This can also have physical ramifications for the user and those around them. It’s a power known to drain the happiness and vitality out of everything and everyone around them, replacing it with fear, anxiety and panic. Things become dull, grey and cold. Phobias become overpowering. The user themselves aren’t spared from these effects, and it can sometimes be even worse for them.   Calling upon Iconoclasm grants formidable and overwhelming power. Yet even power-hungry Rodinians are loathe to use it for these reasons.