THE QUESTION OF ALBION: JAUNT INFO

[powersthatbe]

The Question of Albion
an uchronic fantasy Jaunt of magic and succession
March 19 - April 28

During the month leading up to the High King of Albion’s ceremonial abdication and retirement, the city of Londinium waits to see if the crown will pass along the maternal line to the High King’s sister’s child as tradition--or if the High King’s own child will raise their banner against the rightful heir as expected. It has been more than a century since there has been a succession dispute of this nature, but there is precedent--and because of this, everyone in Albion will need to think very hard about whose claim they will back.

Matters are complicated, as always, by the genii: supernatural entities who humans summon and form contracts with in order to benefit from their aid and accomplish feats of magic. In Albion, the main workers of contractual magic are the Druids, who are traditionally neutral in these conflicts--but such things are not necessarily true of the magical workers of other lands.

And there is a circle of magic workers from nearby Gaule in town.

Lead by a failed Albionese druid, they seek to contract with a far greater genius than they have before--and should they succeed, they would make valuable allies for either would-be heir. Of course, if they fail, the consequences could be disastrous...

World Info | Contractual Magic and Genii | Particular Magical Circles | Albion & Gaule | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Locations | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Skills | Calendar | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

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CONTRACTUAL MAGIC AND GENII

[powersthatbe]

As mentioned before, the biggest difference between this world and ours is the existence of the genii. A genius is, quite simply, the spirit of a place or idea. Every tree and stream and field has its own genius, however minor--and every country or island or even continent has its own major genius. There is a genius to represent each concept as well, from the simplest tutelary spirit to the most complex angel or god.

These genii can--and do--engage in relations with humans from time to time, and occasionally such unions bear fruit. Humans with genius ancestry are liable to have a minor magical power of their own, related to those of their genius ancestor.

Humans get in contact with the genii by ritualistic summoning--or, at least, that is how they make initial contact. The strength of the genius summoned directly correlates to the strength of the ritual and that is influenced by a variety of things, including the number of the summoners, the ritual used, and whether or not any of the summoners have a degree of genius ancestry. If the strength of the ritual is insufficient to compel the presence of a certain genius, it can choose to ignore those summons altogether.

Once the genius is contacted, it can then enter into a contract with the human(s) that summoned it. Some contracts are for a one-time favor. Others are for continued service. These contracts can be done verbally or in writing, but they are meant to be binding. This might be done willingly by the genius, if they find the contract advantageous and have been contacted in a non-binding way--or it might be done unwillingly, if the ritual for contact is one that binds the genius to the summoning circle until their summoner(s) dismiss them.

It is not generally thought of as a good idea to summon a genius that is much more powerful than one or one’s summoning circle can handle, if one wants to remain alive or at the very least unpossessed by that genius.