SCALBRANER MANC:

Forull Kampa Kunsh:

This is a summoning of a bird spirit, dead or alive. It must be clear as to which or what type of bird spirit is to be summoned before beginning the ritual or dance. Other items of this Manc must be dedicated to one family or specific bird. A family of birds are birds of the same type and closely related, but may be different members of a species. For example crows, ravens or rooks are all family members, whereas a swan is something different. Only good knowledge in bird lore or some related knowledge to the birds' habitat will allow knowledge of family members in any given bird group. Birds are not included as a bird in this instance as are not fish.

When the bird spirit has arrived it will either possess the summoner or else appear as a ghost-like apparition or vision. Some are fleeting shadows or wisps of smoke-like mist, while others are apparently solid and real. What ever the form, the bird spirit can then be communicated with. In some of the forms the summoner also leaves their body and enters the spirit world along with the bird spirit summoned. The summoner must have some knowledge as to the nature of the bird and from its actions, feelings and sounds may be able to determine its reactions and responses to questions asked of it. The bird spirit may also give the summoner some of its memory of a given event or situation. This is in the form of a projection of the summoner, a memory appearing in the summoner's mind or else a purely empathic feeling. The more basic the bird type, the more basic the information and relationship gained from the bird spirit. Intelligent birds tend towards obvious and detailed information, while the more simple are almost always empathic only, although the summoner's power does influence this to some degree.

Communication can begin as soon as the summoner has thanked and respected the bird spirit for coming and a small offering either directly to the spirit or to others of its kind may be made. The time of communication is often unlimited but the spirit is free to leave when it wishes after the minimum duration, as so may the summoner thank and end the meeting. Should the summoner be rude or end the meeting improperly the spirit may take offence and either never be summoned again or else cause some negative influence over the summoner or someone associated with the summoner. Occasionally this can affect the whole tribe, for example, should a spirit of a particular bird feel insulted and the tribe use this bird for a particular purpose, there may seem a reduction or even complete absence in the numbers of these birds after the event or else an increase in numbers that may affect crops planted nearby etc.

A spirit should never be summoned twice in two days. Birds that live far outside of the summoner's home cause the summoner to suffer a doubling of the time to summon. Bird spirits summoned outside of their normal activity periods cause the summoner to suffer a -25% success chance of summoning and double the time to summon. Evil or vicious bird spirits may need placating with extra gifts in the summoning or else can not be summoned, as they may refuse. Also bird spirits can affect directly the summoner or the locale in which they are summoned too, therefore it is important to know the bird and its character when summoning.

Critical success (01) in summoning the bird spirit results in a time of summoning being halved and the spirit being more inclined to communicate and less afraid. Critical failures in summoning (100 or chance of success + 50) results in either no summoning for that day, an evil version of a bird spirit appearing or else the possession of the summoner by the spirit or multiples of spirits. Only by removing these possessing spirits will the summoner recover. Should the success chance after spending time on the summoning rise above that of the maximum chance, then assume a failure has occurred and the bird spirit will not come that day, or as the individual form may dictate.

Where it may say in the following forms 'fly' if the bird being summoned is flightless, this is usually replaced by run, wade, walk or any other appropriate form of motion the bird may make.

Ritual

The ritual consists of the summoner standing before the morning sunrise, arms outstretched and head bent. To summon a particular bird spirit that is known to be dead, the body, or at least a large part of the body must be used as a focus point instead of the sunrise. The summoner then proceeds to chant and raise their arms and flaps or sways their arms as if gliding on high winds. The summoner then sits before the sun and traces a line around themselves with a feather, preferably from the birds wing, but this is not essential, any feather of the bird being summoned will do. Once the circle has been made, they take 2-6 sharpened quills or feathers from a bird, and insert them into the top of their arms carefully, piercing the skin lightly, so as not to draw blood. They then chant once again the same chant they performed previously and sway their arms, mimicking the bird as best they can. Then the summoner meditates on the bird spirit making its way to them before raising their arms and standing once again. This standing and flapping or gliding and then sitting and swaying is repeated until the bird spirit appears and communication may begin. The base success chance for the ritual is 10%; see the Manc Table for modifiers.

Once communication has begun the summoner is in a trance-like state and their spirit flies off to join that of the bird spirit. The summoner can only be awoken by having the circle around them destroyed and their feathers removed, but even then powerful bird spirits may refuse to allow them to awaken and they may be in the trance state until the bird spirit is happy to let them awaken. Should the summoner be killed in this trance-like state, the summoner is left on the spirit world and will be suddenly open to any other spirits in the spirit world. The only way for them to find peace is to be accepted by a deity, captured by a devil, reincarnated in a new body, possess a willing body or else be laid to rest by a priest, or other spiritually able person who can do such a task. Once communication has ended and the summoner awoken from their trance, they must clear the circle around them in reverse and then bow to the sun, the feathers may be removed and used again another time. Only one set of feathers may be used by one summoner, they may not be given or loaned to anyone else. Using the same feathers as someone else results in an evil version of the bird spirit coming, another form of evil spirit coming to the summoner or else the summoner's spirit will be lifted high into the sky and then dropped, upon hitting the ground the summoner's physical body will suffer crushing wounds as if they had fallen to their death.

Dance

The dance is an individually created set of dance movements that the creator feels typifies the particular bird they wish to imitate. It does not have to mimic the bird in its movements but this may be part of the dance. Usually performed in a particular prepared area and performed during the typical cycle that the bird will be active in, around a fire or some offering that the bird may accept. It may be accompanied by music from others, the dancer themselves or even singing or chanting by the dancer. One dancer can perform the dance, but multiple dancers can also perform it, appointing one as the focus, although they need do no different from the others, they alone will travel and communicate with the bird spirit. For each extra dancer performing along with the focus, the dance gains +1% to the chance success per Round. Using bird costumes adds a one time bonus of +5% to the chance success.

The dancer, when the dance has been successful, will feel their spirit lift from their body and the bird spirit will meld with each other and fly through the air. The dancer's physical body will fall unconscious and remain so until their spirit returns at the end of the communication. Should the dancer fail to keep dancing or is stopped before the spirit lifts from their body, the spirit communication fails and the dancer will feel completely fatigued. If the communication ends courteously and amicably, then the dancer will feel tired but not overly so. The maximum time a dancer can dance is dependent upon their END÷2 in Rounds, modified by their class and Manc level combined as noted on the table below.

Potion

For the potion many ingredients must be gathered to create the potion that then places the drinker into a state of deep meditation and opens them to the spirits world and the receiving of spirits. Ingredients are varied but have some essential constituents that any potion of this Manc must include: body fluid of a bird; ground crystals of local stone; any trance inducing plant extract; any coma inducing poison or venom; water from the leaves of a plant the bird may feed from or frequent; a spiritual  or spiritually connected ingredient (holy essence, hair from an avatar, particles from a corpse of a known spirit etc.); and an ounce of one of the following: mistletoe, mandrake, tarse leaves or quamoclit. Other ingredients may include honey, part of the bird wishing to be summoned, hair or blood from the creator of the potion and other ingredients considered useful by the creator.

Herbalism, Cooking and Folklore are all necessary to create the potion as well as the applicable lore of the locality the ingredients are gathered from (i.e. forest lore, mountain lore, plains lore etc.). Once brewed the potion may be kept for as long as the ingredient allow. Blood tends to ruin after a day or so, but the Manc imbued keeps it fresher longer and typically it can last for up to 1D12 Pentawaeks before ruining. Once ruined it is merely semi-poisonous and disgusting if not solid and putrid.

Once drank the drinker will feel hot and yet cold at the same time, they will feel very light but their body will feel awkward and heavy and usually they sit down and assume some form of meditation position. Within a few moments they will seem to outsiders to enter a trance and become very shallow in breathing and heart rate, almost a coma. The drinker meanwhile, realizes they are leaving the physical world behind and beginning to see strange lights and shadows around everything, before taking flight from their body and entering a different world. The world is a strange, calm version of their own, where the people around them still move but are blurred and slow; sound seems muffled and it is as if they have swapped places with an onlooker. They can fly in this new world and even see their own body. The spirit they wished to communicate with will be near by already, but they must convince it to communicate with them.

This is the only form where the duration may not be ended before the minimum noted in the Manc Table. Once the spirit has been communicated with the drinker of the potion may return to their body and await the duration to end. Alternatively continue flying on their own and await the duration to end, note that in this way free flight is limited to a maximum of the summoner's level in Turns flight in distance away from their physical body. The drinker will find themselves awaking with a start in their body, assuming nothing has happened to it in the meantime. Should the drinker's body be destroyed or damaged in such a way that the spirit would be forced to leave, the drinker is left on the spirit world and will be suddenly open to any other spirits in the spirit world. The only way for them to find peace is to be accepted by a deity, captured by a devil, reincarnated in a new body, possess a willing body or else be laid to rest by a priest, or other spiritually able person who can do such a task.

The table below shows the form the Manc takes. The Level, if applicable, needed to create the form before the Manc can be attempted; this may be either a Manc level (Mancers etc.) or a class level (Ranger etc.). The time the form needs to be fully completed. Components required to attempt the Manc. The base success chance of the Manc working as wished. The maximum chance this Manc has of working assuming typical and average conditions, modifiers to this will be mentioned in the applicable text for that form. Minimum duration is the shortest length of the Manc working once successfully attempted, of course it may be ended by the summoner at any time observing any principles set out for that form.

1 Round = 30 seconds