Theologia Arcanea · Adversum Maleficarum · Diquisitiones Magicae · Directorium Inquisitorum
Liber Artum Magicarum Prohibitarum · Elenchós Tés Pseudonymú Gnóseós · Liber Lucifer Ordinis Novi
Elenchós Tés Pseudonymú Gnóseós - book of pagan magic
Spells: Overdose / Keen Senses / Poison Protection / Stone Skin / Berserker /Shatter / Storm / Regeneration / Ball of Lightning / Rain of Fire
In the old times when the young Faithful Church struggled with pagan cults one of the priests of the Lord named Arkinodos wrote Revelation of False Teachings, or Elenchós Tés Pseudonymú Gnóseós. The book contains not only detailed descriptions of Erebornian cultic rites, but also lists contradictions contained in them and also contradictions between those false pagan rites and the Holy Truth revealed by the Creator and written down by the prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
Later attempts of certain renegade priests to perform pagan rites based on the book led to the banning of the work. It was considered to be necessary to prevent further growth of idolatrous insurgent movements aiming at the disruption of divine order. Nevertheless it is certain that copies of the book are still to be found among heretics and are often used to attack all the pillars of the Kingdom of God on Earth.
That’s why each and every Faithful Church must fight any manifestation of the teachings described in this forbidden book!
Overdose
- This spell temporarily decreases strength, dexterity and speed of the target.
- Any being can be the target of this spell.
- The higher mastery level the caster is, the more the attributes of the target decrease.
The heretic practitioners of pagan magic studied forbidden scriptures of Opiel Maxim, the mage and alchemist of the Erebornian emperor, and found a formula able to put one in a state similar to the effects of overdose by narcotics, psychotropic substances and poisons. Opiel derived this ability from pagan God Héroin whose kiss could bring about an ecstatic state of mind as well as a painful death. The same spell nowadays uses the metaphysical imprint of faith in Héroin who survived the downfall of paganism and the rise of the true faith.
Keen Senses
- This spell temporarily increases perception of the target.
- Only the caster can be the target of this spell.
- The perception bonus increases with the mastery level of the caster.
The divine pantheon of pagan Erebornians included many gods and goddesses with many different abilities attributed to each of its members. The God of Wisdom and Knowledge, to whom wise men and scholars in need to stimulate their minds would turn, was called Brainus. Brainus’s cult has survived until nowadays in the form of the Keen Senses spell which stimulates the senses and logical thinking.
Poison Protection
- This spell temporarily increases poison resistance.
- Any being can be the target of this spell.
- The poison resistance bonus and duration of this spell increase with the mastery level of the caster.
At the times of the pagan empire of Ereborn poison was a frequent and popular means of murder. It was used on—and by—the emperors, their wives and concubines, the aristocracy, the commoners and everybody else. No wonder that poison was one of the main attributes of God Venomus who transported the dead over the river of Mortis to the Afterworld. Naturally, the Erebornians paid a lot of attention to protection from poison. Praying to goddess Antimona, Venomus’s wife who was able to tame him, was one of the ways. From the shards of the past knowledge the heretics with the help of pagan rites managed to create a formula which summons the powers of dead Antimona and protects against the poison effects.
Stone Skin
- This spell temporarily increases the armor class of the target.
- Any being can be the target of this spell.
- The armor class bonus and the duration of this spell increase with the mastery level of the caster.
Pagan myths speak many times of the Gorgons—mysterious divine beings with a snakelike body and bosom and head of a woman. They were sisters who inherited immortality from their divine parents—with the exception of the youngest one whose name was Medusa. But unlike her sisters she could turn any being that looked at her to stone. This ability appealed to many pagan thinkers and magicians and they tried to imitate it using magic. Results of their experiments were somewhat disappointing though because the target’s skin gained the hardness of a stone for a short period of time only. Despite that the spell was frequently used in the emperor’s army and thanks to the voluminous essays written on it has been preserved until nowadays.
Berserker
- This spell temporarily increases strength and chance to hit but defense and the ability to cast spells decrease.
- Any being can be the target of this spell.
- Duration of this spell increases with the mastery level of the caster.
Ruthus Denemius was a worldwide known Erebornian traveler who belonged to the few civilized people of his time who visited the distant Ice Plains to live there with the local barbaric tribes for some time. During his stay he also met the berserkers, feared warriors who were able to fall into a religious trance in the midst of a battle during which they became uncontrollably aggressive and hurled themselves furiously at their enemies. The Erebornian court mages used this principle and created a spell which brings the target into a similar state increasing his strength but decreasing his defense. Thanks to the Hirkhan Scriptures the spell has been preserved up to nowadays.
Shatter
- This spell opens any non-magically locked door, chest or barrel.
- Any non-magically locked door, chest or barrel can be the target of this spell.
- The amount of mana necessary to cast this spell successfully decreases with the mastery level of the caster.
The pagan myths speak of a divine smith Hephaistos who was so strong that he could break a city gate open with a single strike of a hammer. He was worshipped not only by smiths, armorers and metal crafters but also by soldiers and landsknechts for his armor gave them strength. The worshipping became a fundamental of a spell which by a single thrust of an angry desire can destroy any non-magical door. Since this spell was frequently used by the faithful army in 223 when the Erebornian Empire has been overthrown it has been preserved up to nowadays as an unfortunate form of pagan legacy.
Storm
- This spell temporarily decreases the movement speed of affected targets as well as the chance to hit of their missile attacks.
- Any being in the area of effect can be the target of this spell.
- The chance to hit of target’s missile attacks decreases with the mastery level of the caster.
In the pagan pantheon of the old Erebornian gods Poséidon was the lord of oceans and seas with the ability to control the whole water element by weather. Reputedly, he was able to summon storms which crushed boats like eggshells and during which the waves were so high that they could swallow whole cities. These manifestations of divine power were used by the pagan magicians and a principle has been extracted from them which gave birth to a formula that summons similar powers on the sea as well as on the ground. The original formula was however almost forgotten after the downfall of Ereborn and it was only partially restored by the fallen priest Thárikulos who was not able to make it as strong as the original spell but it still became a powerful tool in the hands of heretics inclining to pagan ways.
Regeneration
- This spell gradually restores lost hit points.
- Any being can be the target of this spell.
- The amount of mana needed to cast this spell decreases and speed of lost hit points regeneration increases with the mastery level of the caster. Also the duration of the spell is longer.
As mentioned above, Gorgons were sisters who inherited immortality from their divine parents. What made them immortal was the ability of perfect regeneration which not only prevented the sisters from aging but enabled them to heal the most severe wounds as well. Some pagans considered them divinities and worshipped them which often brought them strong healing and regeneration powers. The Regeneration spell, which has been preserved until nowadays thanks to the Eternal Beauties Order, uses the same principle of worshipping.
Ball of Lightning
- This spell summons a few lightning balls which randomly move around causing lightning damage to each being they hit.
- Any spot within sight of the caster can be the target of this spell.
Lightning was a frequent manifestation of divine wrath at the times of the Erebornian empire with which gods and goddesses punished faithless humans. Unlike the true faith legends where lightning as a manifestation of divine wrath appears as well, the pagan lightning was not going from sky to the ground but it was a ball lightning which would suddenly materialize by the sinner and burn him to ashes in a moment. A similar principle is used by a spell which concentrates energy with a quality of a ball lightning on a single spot and thrusts it against a selected opponent. This spell was a powerful weapon used frequently against the enemy even by the faithful armies that fought against Ereborn in 223 and despite repeated church bans it has been preserved until nowadays.
Rain of Fire
- This spell inflicts fire damage each second during the time of its effect.
- Any being in the area of effect can be the target of this spell.
The legend of the sinful city of Narmazal which has been burned down for turning away from the divine pantheon and falling for the seduction of demons is one of the most terrifying passages in pagan mythology. The gods would cast a rain of fire which burned down the city and all of its inhabitants to dust. Reportedly, the fire rained down from sky for three days and three nights before the gods calmed down. Pagan mages were inspired by this manifestation of divine power which they studied and derived a formula from it that summons similar destructive powers, although on a smaller scale. Just like with the Ball of Lightning, church repeatedly tried to ban the Rain of Fire but never succeeded and it has been preserved until nowadays.