Blood Rituals

Abstraction is the magical act of altering the physical world by channeling energy from the Ethereal Plane and bringing it into the material world. Each alteration requires a tribute of equal energy to replace the energy taken from the ethereal plane. These tributes can be a variety of acts ranging from the burning of certain plants to the spilling of sacrificial blood. The use of blood in tributes causes abstraction to be commonly referred to as 'blood magic' and has led to various persecutions of abstractionsits referred to as 'blood trials'. One who practices abstraction is called an abstractionist.

Reverie and Rituals
In order to access the Ethereal Plane, abstractionists use a technique called reverie. Reverie is a trance-like state in which the conscience inhabits the ethereal plane. This trance is commonly achieved through meditation and is often aided by burning incense and ritualistic chanting. Any person can learn to access the ethereal plane in this way, but only a master abstractionist can achieve reverie quickly and with no aides.

Ritual Practices
Hooded cloaks are worn during abstraction rituals in an attempt to protect the abstractionist's identity. It is believed that entities residing within the ethereal plane will curse an abstractionist if they are able to discover who they are.

Runes are used in many rituals, especially when attempting more powerful abstractions. Runes are drawn in either blood or chalk on the floor to create a protective circle around the abstractionist or on their skin. These runes help to control the energy being channelled and also protects the abstractionist in case of a complication during the abstraction.

Rituals are commonly done in dark areas in order to block out external distractions that would otherwise make it difficult for the abstractionist to concentrate. Candles are often times lit to better focus the abstractionist as they attempt to achieve reverie.

Saturation
Saturation is the most common form of abstraction. It is the process of removing energy from the ethereal plane and putting it into something in the material world. It is similar to rune magic except instead of a continuous flow of energy, the object is saturated once and generally has no continuous effects. Organic items tend to hold on to the residual effects of the energy whereas metal and stone items lose the effects of saturation almost immediately. Because of this, saturation is most commonly used as a key step in the brewing of potions.

Less commonly, saturation has been known to be used by abstractionists to give power to themselves or others, but the risks of this are very high because the soul could be easily destroyed by that much energy. A few necromancers throughout history have been known to animate corpses by filling them with ethereal energy in place of a soul.

Illusion
Ethereal energy cannot take on physical structure in the material world. However, it can be shaped into very convincing illusions. These illusions can be any false image that the abstractionist can create in their mind from phantasmic images that does not exist to glamors that disguise appearanace of a person or item. (this takes artistic/imaginative skill and can be "sensed" by experienced abstractionists)

Oracles
Some people are born with the rare ability to prophecy through abstraction. These few abstractionists, called oracles, are able to either read the energy they access in the ethereal plane in order to tell the future or gain knowledge of other parts of the world. Unlike the physical tributes required for other abstractions, a prophecy requires a tribute of a memory. This memory can either be offered as payment from a customer wishing to have their future told or can come from the oracle themselves.

Many kings throughout history have been known to hold oracles captive in order to gain access to their knowledge of the future. These oracles would be tortured for inaccurate predictions and would gradually be driven mad by the amount of their mind they are forced to offer as tribute. Because of this practice, oracles generally keep their abilities secret and operate in a magical black market.

Tributes
I have to actually fill out this section sometime soon, but it'll take awhile when I do so I haven't gotten around to it quite yet. When I do, this page should be pretty much complete.

The Cult of Baltus
Commonly refered to as the Cult, the Cult of Baltus is a religious faction of abstractionists. The followers of the Cult worship the diety Baltus whom they believe to rule over the ethereal plane. It is believed that non-tribute sacrifices and the prayers to Baltus strengthen the power of the ethereal plane and thus the power of their individual abstractions. Black hooded cloaks have become the uniform for Cultists as they are commonly worn during rituals.

The Inner Conclave
After the genocide of abstractionists during the Valdorian Blood Trials the Inner Conclave was formed. The Inner Conclave is a secret society of Cultist worshipers who act as a centralized governing body for the Cult of Baltus. The purpose of the Inner Conclave was twofold: to preserve the beliefs of the Cult and to create the Ethereal Code, a set of laws meant to prevent abstractionists from delving into the darker areas of abstraction. Violating the code is cause for severe punishment by the Conclave if discovered.

The conclave resides in the Hellig Dome, a temple to Baltus on the island of Varne, north of Oleran. Their identity is kept extremely secret and it is thought that the members of the Inner Conclave do not even know the identities of the others.

Underground Sects
There are many smaller groups of abstractionists who do not accept the authority of the Cult.

I will fill this one out more as stories come together.