The Egregoric Force

"In this world, the power of belief is immense, far greater than any other world we have examined. I propose that we undertake to study and experiment with it in great detail, to determine its potential and its boundaries. It will be a simple enough procedure to begin - we need merely collect a few hundred thousand minds and use them to direct the believe and think as we direct them to. One of the larger islands to the west of Sange should provide ample material for our research to begin." - an excerpt from Illustrata's proposal which led to the Conquest of Ynys

The Egregoric Forse is the power of collective belief to influence the world. While is exists in all the worlds connected to The Dream, it is exceptionally potent in the world of the Million Islands, and drives most of the metaphysical activity of the Great Ring.

This force is primarily a part of The Dream realm, one of the three parts of the Universe. All things that think interact with The Dream, and their beliefs and ideas are the engine that drives the Egregoric Force. The force exerts pressure upon the subject of those beliefs and ideas, pushing them to change to better fit what is believed. This pressure is proportional to how widespread it is; a belief shared by many people can exert an overwhelming influence on the world.

Numina: Born of The Dream

Numina are the gods and spirits of the Great Ring, and they are created by the beliefs of the people who live there. When enough thinking creatures imagine a spiritual entity, those beliefs will cause eidolons with that identity to manifest in The Dream. Many of those entities will fade away as quickly as they emerged, but some will be associated with physical and spiritual concepts that will serve as an anchor, allowing them more resistance against the force that created them. Numina are usually anchored to the geography of the Great Ring, and the gods of this world often have bodies which are islands, mountains, lakes, or buildings. You can read more about the Numina here.

Creation & Destruction

The Egregoric Force can create beings like the Numina, but it can also destroy the focus of the beliefs by transforming it into something unrecognizable. Let us consider the case of Lampuato.

Lampuato was once the home of the Mekongga people, who believe in a divine order that they call Kosalo. When the leaders of Lampuato became obsessed with their own greatness, this belief was the seed of a catastrophic cycle.

In order to feed their own narcissism, the royals of Lampuato began to consume the assets of the island at a prodigious rate. They taxed and conscripted the people, and ordered the construction of monuments to themselves that required cutting down most of the trees on the island, including those upon sacred sites. The people saw this and feared that Kosalo was being disturbed by these actions - and so it was. The fears and anger of the citizens translated directly into the spirits of the island, causing them to lash out and attack. This inspired further fear and perpetuated a cycle of terror and violence. Over a surprisingly short time, the entire ecology of the island collapsed. The monarchy was overthrown and executed, but this did not end the cycle. The populace still believed that Kosalo had collapsed on the island, rendering into a nearly sterile nightmare. In the end, the populace fled, invading and conquering the nearby island of Lahat. Even there, they continued to believe that Lampuato was cursed, and so it is.

There are many other stories of catastrophic changes wrought by the power of collective belief. From the doom of Lamos to the incomprehensible accent of Eileanach, this force can create changes both large and small, and is the one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Harnessing the Egregoric Force

Many people have used the Egregoric Force to achieve their goals, either intentionally or unintentionally. It is not a safe thing to tamper with, but when successful it can achieve spectacular results.

One example of an unintentional use of the force was by the first Ard-Rí of Oileán Fiáin, Airgetlám. He was known for his exceptional diplomatic skills, but his true genius was for getting people to see something in a new light and a new way. In the aftermath of the overthrow of the Clarati sorceress Celestina, he was able to convince the Fir Fáinne to view the situation with the enraged Fae of the island differently, as something that could be resolved with the appropriate negotiations. This ability to convince others to believe new things served to redirect the Egregoric Force, pushing the Fae into a more receptive frame of mind, and ultimately allowed the delicate balance between the mortals and the Fae on Oileán Fiáin to be established. While he was unaware of the details of how the force aided him, Airgetlám recorded in his memoirs that winning the hearts and minds of the Fir Fáinne was the key to achieving the peace with the Fae.

Other entities have used the Force with far more intention, and have even transformed themselves utterly through its application. For example, the famous inventor Zaman al-Razaz deliberately seeded his own reputation to enhance his own genius. Another example with Vǫlva Ormr, the witch-goddess of Eyju who recreated herself in the face of annhilation. Finally, many groups have embraced the art of Godcrafting (as pioneered by the Godcrafter's Guild) and have deliberately created gods to meet their needs. The most successful example of godcrafting is the Librarian of Foxbridge. You can read about all of these people here.