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The deepest levels are dark and unexplored, and few of the inhabitants of the realm venture there. Higher up, the walls of the labyrinth are covered with inlaid patterns of silver and gold, arabesques and cosmic secrets written in unknown languages. More and more crystal appears in the walls, forming titanic windows in the inhabited areas or huge pillars rising through several levels. The furnishings are sparse, and usually both simple and subtly luxurious. As one moves towards the apex, reality becomes more fluid and abstract, and the pyramid become more and more pure Quintessence. Nobody has ever seen the apex itself, except possibly for the Oracle.
The Realm is sustained by an immense flow of Quintessence. The Will of the Oracle seems to draw it from all of reality, and as it flows up through the pyramid it becomes more and more concentrated. The walls are filled with its flow, and from time to time they discharge themselves into resonant harmonics echoing through the entire realm. Higher up the Quintessence is so powerful that anything anybody thinks will become real; only the most extreme self-discipline can prevent the dark sides of a person from rising up and destroying him. It is widely believed that the Oracle resides in the node at the apex, bathing in pure Quintessence.
The paradigm within this realm quite naturally allows extremely powerful magick; the only way to attract paradox is by invoking it yourself (or theoretically: by successfully breaking against the Will of the Oracle). Since there is an abundance of Quintessence, pattern magick requires no Prime component and talismans work extremely well. There are a few restrictions: Correspondence can only affect levels lower than the Mage; it is impossible to scry or teleport towards the top of the pyramid. This also includes other forms of perception-magick. The stone and crystal of the pyramid is impermeable to spirits of all kinds, and the only way to enter (or leave) the realm is by the silent admission of the Oracle. This also serves as a very powerful defense against the beings of the Deep Umbra. Time within the realm is somewhat indeterminate; it is more or less optional. It is almost impossible (even with magick) to keep track of time, it just passes with no effect.
The only people who normally interact with the Oracle on a regular basis are the four Postulants of the innermost circle, who sometimes visit places near the apex. It has happened that the Oracle has communicated with others directly, a most bizarre experience: suddenly reality itself around the person is a message, and he will instinctively know what the Oracle wishes to tell him (in the same way that we know our own existence). The Oracle seems to be aware of almost everything that goes on in the Realm, and can actively influence it.
Exactly what goals the Oracle has is also a complete mystery. It is thought that the Oracle studies the interplay between paradox and Quintessence, possibly to unite them into new forms of reality never seen before. Not even the Postulants of the inner circle know for sure.
To become a Postulant at the Pyramid a mage has to be accepted by a tutor, usually a member of the middle circle but rarely a member of the inner circle. The tutor is expected to teach the mage, but the mage is also expected to assist the tutor in all ways (something which can prove very dangerous; more than one lesser Postulant is known to have been destroyed when he made a mistake with the powers his tutor controlled). Study is usually a mixture of experimentation and demonstrations of profound magicks. It is said that no book have ever succeeded in holding the sheer power of Prime at this level, so the highest mysteries have never been written down in the tomes of the libraries. Most of the Postulants of the outer circle spend much time studying all the manifestations of Quintessence and the different kinds of being they form. Later they move on to study Paradox and reality itself.
Even the least of the Postulants is a tremendously powerful mage. They have left their traditions and the Ascension War behind them to pursue their quest for ultimate knowledge and power. Some are driven by an inner need to know, a burning desire to understand reality itself. Others were originally seeking to use the power of Prime for their own ends (or even to seek Oraclehood themselves), but have become enraptured with its beauty. Many of the postulants have an intense thirst for knowledge of all kinds, and also study the highest levels of other spheres. Some are quite different from humanity by now; many do not eat or drink, they rely on the flow of quintessence within the realm to replenish them, and some have spent years in concentrated meditation.
Hans is obsessed with Paradox and its properties. He often visits the physical world or other realms to witness paradox storms and major backlashes, and he has traveled the Umbra to seek out the Marauders in their lairs. A few times he has appeared to other mages falsely claiming to be an Oracle (rumor has it that the real Oracle is displeased with this). So far his research has led to the discovery of several previously unknown forms of paradox and a limited ability to control its manifestations (this is extremely dangerous, and Hans nearly destroyed himself when he attempted to turn paradox itself into material form; only the intervention of the Oracle saved him).
Hans is a striking figure, surrounded with an intense aura of leadership and devotion. His clothes are woven of fluid reality, changing appearance depending on the viewer but always impressive and symbolic of his power. His long hair is black as the abyss and his eyes are filled with a gleam harder than diamond; something about his appearance gives the impression that it has been artificially perfected, or rather simplified and strengthened. Due to his study of paradox, he always talks in riddles and contradictions, never revealing his true intentions or visions despite that he hides them within his speech.
Of the Postulants of the inner circle, Hans is ironically the most
approachable. While he is a strict person and hard to understand, he still
has some ties left to humanity unlike the others. According to some of the
other Postulants he is the youngest and most ambitious of the inner
circle, but this is uncertain.
Postulant of the Inner Circle: Ibrahim Gazi
Ibrahim grew up in Morocco during the height of the Arab empire, second
son to a royal astrologer. Already as a child he learned many secrets
about the heavens, and often accompanied his father to the rooftop during
the night, silently taking notes of the positions of the stars his father
called out. One day an old man visited the family, a mystic from a remote
land. Ibrahim listened to the conversations between his father and the
mystic, and that night he had a terrifying and awesome dream: he was no
longer a boy, but an endlessly growing arabesque, growing ever greater
into infinity.
Suddenly he remembered the holy Quran, and recited "To God belong the East and the West; whithersoever you turn, there is the Face of God; God is All-embracing, All-knowing." And he saw that infinity was really his center, and that all was one. When he awakened and told his dream to his father and the mystic both smiled. The mystic said: "Truly, Allah has blessed you with a son destined for greatness, just as the stars foretold." he said and turned to Ibrahim, "You will be known by many names and in many places, but foremost you will know yourself".
Ibrahim studied the teachings his sufi teacher taught him, and when he had surpassed him he studied under his teacher's teacher until he surpassed him too, and taught them instead. When he was named Qutb, he carried the heavy burden with happiness, because he saw the truth behind it. However, during his pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca he felt something calling to him. Above the Qabah he saw a glimpse of an immense pyramid, a pure geometric shape reflecting Mount Qaf. "Not yet, but in the time Allah wishes" he whispered to himself and kissed the black stone.
It was not until he was over 90 years old he felt he could give his responsibilities over to his students. He left his home city for the mountains, where he fasted and danced to purify himself before his great journey. After ten days and nights, he lightly danced into the air and vanished. After another ten days and nights, he danced into a huge hallway of pure crystal and collapsed on the floor, filled with the ecstasy of exhaustion.
Ibrahim became a Postulant, and slowly advanced into the inner circle. Despite the immense knowledge and power he has amassed, he is still a man of faith and humor. He has more and more turned inwards, since he has deeply realized that the reality we see outside ourselves is just a mirror of our inner reality, and vice versa. Most of the time he spends silently meditating in one of the high chambers or dancing through the hallways made of reality itself, seeking the dance which will take him to the unity at the apex.
Ibrahim is a very old man, physically very frail but spiritually a pillar of strength. He dresses simply in a dusty grey robe. He never speaks, preferring to show things directly instead.
Up to the Realm PageAnders Sandberg / nv91-asa@nada.kth.se