Ontological Stabilization/ONTOS

The United Domains of Gaea relies on an advanced yet deeply classified technology known as ONTOS (Ontological Stabilisers) to anchor local reality, thus nullifying the influence of thaumaturgy within their operational radius. Though the exact principles behind the workings are classified as Above Top Secret, it is understood that ONTOS function by ‘siphoning reality’ from the Gaean homeworld itself. This process requires a continuous, uninterrupted connection to their homeworld.

ONTOS technology is structured into five distinct grades, each designed to counteract varying degrees of thaumaturgic potential, scaling from minor individual protections to massive anti-thaumaturgic fields that can engulf entire battlefields.

Grade Alpha

The most ubiquitous and widely deployed variant, Grade Alpha, is a standard issue among Gaean military and police forces. This small and portable stabilizer, often woven into clothing, carried in a pouch, or affixed to a ring or wristband, entirely neutralizes thaumaturgic potentials categorized as Type Green and below, while also slightly weakening Type Yellow thaumaturges. Its diminutive size belies its effectiveness, ensuring that every soldier and officer remains shielded from lower-tier magical threats. The device requires only a small battery, capable of sustaining its functionality for three days before necessitating a replacement.

Grade Beta

For operations requiring greater suppression of thaumaturgic activity, Grade Beta ONTOS is deployed. Designed to counteract thaumaturgic potentials of up to Type Yellow, with a weakening effect on Type Orange, this variant is entrusted to military anti-thaumaturgic specialists at the section level. Unlike its smaller counterpart, this device takes the form of a large rucksack, with twin fist-sized batteries that enable continuous operation for up to a week. Its field of influence extends across a ten-meter diameter, providing localized protection to squads engaged in direct combat with thaumaturgic adversaries.

Grade Gamma

As the potency of thaumaturges escalates, so too does the size and power of ONTOS technology. Grade Gamma ONTOS, deployed at the company or battalion level, is the first of the stabilizers that must be mounted on vehicles due to its sheer bulk. The size of a Gaean tank, these devices nullify thaumaturgic potentials up to Type Orange but leave Type Red thaumaturges unaffected. Each Gaean battalion typically fields three to four such units, carried on tracked or truck-mounted platforms. Their reliance on fusion cells allows them to function continuously for years, making them a reliable asset in prolonged engagements. The extent of their stabilizing field varies, reaching a maximum diameter of 200 to 500 meters, which transforms entire battlefields into dead zones where even the most adept war-mages find themselves powerless.

Grade Delta

However, the gulf between Type Orange and Type Red thaumaturges is an exponential chasm. The emergence of Type Red thaumaturges necessitated the creation of Grade Delta ONTOS. Unlike their predecessors, these stabilizers are not designed for mobility, given their immense scale, roughly equivalent to two-storey buildings. While theoretically capable of being mounted on massive vehicles or transported via cargo planes, their sheer bulk often limits their placement to fixed strategic locations. Their ability to neutralize thaumaturgic influences up to Type Red grants Gaea an unparalleled strategic advantage, ensuring that even the most formidable practitioners find their powers annulled. Yet, even these titanic stabilizers remain powerless against Type Black thaumaturges, the most dangerous and unfathomable class of thaumaturgic beings. Their function is sustained through the use of antimatter cells, unstable but immensely powerful energy sources that allow for uninterrupted operation for an average span of fifty years before requiring replacement. Their area of effect extends between five and ten kilometers, establishing thaumaturgic voids over vast territories, rendering entire strongholds impervious to magical intervention.

Grade Epsilon

The existence of Type Black thaumaturges necessitated the development of the most extreme and formidable ONTOS technology: Grade Epsilon. These devices are experimental and exceedingly rare, and represent the pinnacle of Gaean anti-thaumaturgic engineering. They are designed to fully nullify even Type Black thaumaturgic activity, ensuring that only those at the absolute zenith of thaumaturgic power can function within their radius, and even then, only at a meager fraction of their potential. The scale of these constructs is unprecedented, each one sprawling across the size of an entire city block, their power demands so immense that they require vanometric reactors that tap into the fluctuations of quantum foam itself to sustain their function. Their range extends for nearly twenty kilometers, creating dead zones so vast that they can reshape entire theaters of war, neutralizing even the most devastating thaumaturgic assaults.

(WIP...)