Fallacia

Fallacia is an innate ability exclusive to Ananans, allowing them to manipulate perception and cognition through an Aura that induces illusions. It affects all senses, creating immersive experiences that can be comforting, distressing, or entirely transformative, with direct contact enhancing its strength. While revered within Ananan culture and governed by strict ethical discussions, it is feared and outlawed by Magi and Humans, who view all Ananan magic as dangerous and unnatural.

Properties

Source & Nature

• Fallacia is an innate ability, exclusive to Ananans, allowing them to manipulate perception and cognition.
• It does not generate physical alterations but alters how individuals perceive reality.
• Ananans using Fallacia generate an Aura around themselves that induces illusions in those within its range.
• Direct contact by touching the target’s head strengthens the effect, allowing deeper mental influence.
• Illusions are often immersive, incorporating sights, sounds, tastes, and smells to reinforce believability.

Manifestation & Sensory Perception

• Fallacia influences all senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and emotion.
• Illusions can be comforting, distressing, or any emotional state the caster wishes to evoke.

Mechanisms & Functionality

• Fallacia is activated through meditation, imagination, and mental focus.
• It requires sustained concentration, with stronger and more complex illusions demanding greater effort.
• Memory alterations always require direct physical contact to implant, modify, or erase recollections.
• Once an illusion is imposed, it persists until the Ananan stops maintaining it or the target exits the aura.
• Ananans can voluntarily take chamomile to weaken their magical abilities, though some are forcibly given it by Magi or humans to suppress their powers.
• Liquorice amplifies all forms of Ananan magic, making abilities stronger when consumed.

Scope & Limitations

• Fallacia creates illusions but does not alter physical reality.
• The range of the aura varies by the Ananan’s power and skill, with stronger users able to affect a wider area.
• Both Fallacia Ananans and those with the Aptitude can detect Fallacia, even when it is not actively being used, and counteract its effects if necessary.
• Those who do not possess Fallacia, or the Aptitude, do not realise that they are in an illusion, and therefore cannot resist it.

Interaction with the Environment & Other Magics

• Fallacia leaves lasting psychological traces, sometimes causing paranoia as victims question what was real.
• It can affect multiple targets simultaneously to the same degree if they step into the aura, and they will collectively experience the same illusion.
• Strong emotions or mental discipline do not weaken its effects.

Applications

Concealment & Revelation

• Hiding or revealing objects, places, or people by altering perception.
• Making someone or something appear invisible or unnoticed.
• Revealing hidden truths, showing illusions for what they are.

Memory Manipulation

• Altering memories, causing selective forgetfulness or enhancing recall.
• Creating false memories that feel indistinguishable from real ones.
• Reinforcing or weakening emotional connections to past events.

Sleep & Cognitive Influence

• Inducing sleep or preventing it, forcing insomnia or sudden exhaustion.
• Enhancing cognitive abilities, such as focus, clarity, or creativity.
• Dulling the mind, making a target confused, slow, or forgetful.

Dream & Emotion Manipulation

• Influencing and controlling dreams, shaping them into desired narratives.
• Altering emotions, making targets feel joy, fear, sadness, or rage.
• Suppressing or amplifying emotions for manipulation or comfort.

Psychological Influence

• Inducing confidence or paranoia, controlling a target’s sense of security.
• Causing or relieving headaches, influencing physical sensations.
• Planting subconscious thoughts, guiding targets toward desired conclusions.

Sensory Manipulation

• Creating false sounds, smells, and tactile sensations to mislead targets.
• Distorting perception, making distances seem greater or smaller.
• Altering the passage of time in the target’s perception.

Mental Shielding & Protection

• Defending against intrusive thoughts or outside mental manipulation.
• Blocking emotional influence or deceptive illusions from other Fallacia users.
• Healing psychological trauma and reinforcing mental resilience.

Interpersonal & Societal Use

• Used in negotiations or interrogations to control emotions and thoughts.
• Manipulating crowds by guiding emotions or influencing group perception.
• Assisting individuals with trauma by selectively dulling or reinforcing memories.

Effects

Fallacia has profound effects on both the caster and the target(s), influencing the mind, emotions, and sensory perception. These effects vary in intensity based on the skill of the Ananan using it and the susceptibility of those affected.

Effects on the Target

• Perceptual Distortion: Targets experience altered reality, seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling sensations that do not exist.
• Emotional Influence: Induces emotions such as fear, calm, joy, paranoia, or sadness with remarkable accuracy.
• Cognitive Disruption: Causes confusion, forgetfulness, or hyperfocus depending on intent.
• Physical Reactions: Some illusions trigger involuntary physical responses, such as flinching, dizziness, nausea, or even fainting.
• Sleep & Mental Fatigue: Prolonged exposure can cause exhaustion, induce deep sleep, or prevent rest entirely.
• Pain or Relief: Can create the illusion of experiencing pain, or can relieve pain. Though never physically altered, the target will retain full memory of the sensation.
• Mind Entrapment: In extreme cases, a target fully believes the illusion, losing all awareness of external reality.

Effects on the Caster

• Concentration Requirement: Maintaining Fallacia requires focus, and prolonged use over several hours leads to mental exhaustion.
• Innate Resistance: Ananans who possess Fallacia are naturally immune to its effects, therefore, they do not experience illusions or mental instability themselves.
• Emotional Perception: Fallacia users have a natural heightened awareness of others’ emotions and thoughts.
• Endurance Through Practice: Like any skill, Fallacia improves with training, allowing practioners to hone their skill through experience.

Long-Term Consequences

• Targets may suffer lasting confusion, paranoia, or emotional instability if repeatedly subjected to Fallacia.
• Addiction to Fallacia: Some individuals become dependent on experiencing illusions, seeking out Fallacia users to relive comforting, euphoric, or even painful sensations.
• Dissociation Disorders: Frequent exposure can cause individuals to detach from reality, struggling to distinguish illusions from truth in their daily lives.
• Schizophrenia-like Symptoms: Long-term or extreme use can lead to hallucinations, delusions, and an inability to trust one's own perceptions.
• Irreversible Memory Alteration: Sometimes, deep memory modifications or prolonged emotional suppression can permanently reshape a target’s personality, identity, or mental state.

While Fallacia is a powerful tool, its misuse or overuse carries significant risks for those subjected to its influence. However, Ananans with this ability are naturally immune to its effects and remain emotionally steady, unaffected by the illusions they create.

Cultural & Social Impact

Ananan Ethics & Moral Responsibility

• Strong Ethical Framework: Ananans place great importance on ethical discussions surrounding all magic, with Fallacia particularly raising concerns about consent, manipulation, and autonomy.
• Moral Divide on Use: Some Fallacia users see their abilities as a means of comfort and healing, while others acknowledge the risk of dependency and blurred reality.
• Addiction & Dependency: Ananans recognise that repeated exposure can lead individuals to crave illusions, and most Fallacia users take care to prevent unhealthy reliance.
• Exploitation Concerns: While most Fallacia users are responsible, some are coerced or misused by outsiders seeking continued access to their abilities.

Outsider Perceptions of Fallacia

While Fallacia is an integral part of Ananan culture, it is feared and outlawed by Magi and Humans. Ananan ethical concerns focus on ensuring responsible use, preventing dependence, and addressing exploitation, whereas outsiders see it only as a dangerous and forbidden power.

Governance & Control

Teaching & Ethical Guidance

• Community-Based Learning: Ananans are taught how to use their magic by their parents, elders, or within their communities. Ananan magic is inherited, meaning a child will always possess the magic of one of their parents.
• Education & Support: Schools provide structured guidance, ensuring all Ananans develop their abilities safely and responsibly.
• Ethical Discussions: Ananan communities strongly discourage unethical use of magic, reinforcing responsibility in its application.
• Consequences of Neglect: Ananans who are not taught how to control their magic may develop learning difficulties, stunted magical growth, or become unstable in their abilities.

Legal Suppression by Magi & Humans

Fallacia, like all Ananan magic, exists under constant suppression by Magi rule. While Ananans maintain their traditions through education and ethical governance, they must navigate a world where their abilities are criminalised, requiring secrecy, resistance, and careful control of their powers.