Divination

Origins & Traditions

Divination is one of the oldest arcane practices, its roots predating formal Hermeticism. While its methods vary, its origins lie in instinctive magic, ancestral bloodlines, and cosmic synchrony.
Ancient seers claimed to channel truths from "the space between heartbeats"—a concept later adopted by both priesthoods and rogue practitioners.

Manifestation Tiers

The One-Gifted: Seers attuned to a single aspect of Divination.

The Dual-Seers: Can wield two forms of perception with increasing strain.

The True Oracles: Rarest of all. Possess all three forms but often suffer mental or emotional instability.

Subtypes or Branches

Retrovocation: The act of perceiving the past through touch and deep focus. Often used in forensic scrying.

Clairvoyance: Viewing present events at a distance using focus objects such as mirrors or crystal orbs.

Prophecy: Fragmented visions of possible futures, typically induced via trance and enhanced by tools like tarot cards, dice, bones, or entrails.

Practice & Limitations

Divination requires both magical aptitude and strong personal focus.

• Tools and foci are essential for controlled perception.
• Retrovocation functions through direct contact.
• Clairvoyance and prophecy demand intense focus and symbolic aids.
• Visions are rarely literal and must be interpreted.

Signs & Symptoms

• Eyes glaze or shimmer during visions.
• Practitioners may speak in riddles or not at all during trances.
• Sudden trance states, whispering voices, time disorientation.
• Emotional overwhelm triggered by objects or locations.

Drawbacks & Risks

• Visions are mentally exhausting and emotionally taxing.
• Frequent exposure may cause temporal dissonance.
• Many practitioners suffer from migraines, sleep disorders, or fragmented perception.
• True Oracles risk full detachment from linear time.

Cultural Reception

Diviners are treated with equal parts awe and dread.

• Revered in religious circles or royal courts.
• Feared among common folk due to cryptic speech and unsettling behaviour.
• Strictly monitored by the Department of Esoteric Affairs.

Known Practitioners

• Magister Elias Venn (Clairvoyant Advisor to the Crown)
• The Oracle of Blackwater Moor (retired)
• The Feral Prophet of Bleak Hollow (missing)

Symbols, Tools & Focuses

• Foci are always personal and attuned to the user