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At dawn on the morning of the 26th of Goodmonth, Andronichishche arranged himself to sit in lotus position on the floor of his quaint rented shack. Mere days ago in the cave complex of the tiny offshore island, he encountered a paradox of nature. An indescribably black hole. A void of pure nothing that utterly entranced his mind, drawing his gaze into its unfathomable depths as his brain attempted to reconcile this rift in reality. It was only the timely assistance of his companions that wrested his attention away.

While staring into the inky abyss, however, his mind felt released, unconstrained from its physical limitations. He could see every neuron, every synapse, of his brain as if able to dissect it cell by cell. Gripped as he was by the anomaly in the floor, an abundant awareness was unleashed in his mind. The sudden possibilities evoked further seized his consciousness, but all sense of time and permanence were gone. Despite the intensity, he wasn't able to formulate a cohesive memory of the experience to easily understand how to manifest this sensation again.

In his studies at the temple of Rao in the city of Niola Dra, Andronichishche learned about an extremely rare and poorly understood phenomena known as psionics. Abilities possessed by those of extraordinary minds that can effect similar power as with spells, but exercised entirely from mental effort. No incantations, somatics, or materials of any kind! He was convinced if he could achieve the same state of consciousness experienced at the void, the application of a new magical construct he developed, called the Psionitropic Matrix, would be possible.


Before he could proceed further with his initial research into a Psionitropic spell, unlocking the method to achieve the required state of mind was essential. As dawn drifted to morning and the sun reached its apex to begin the descent west, Andron methodically cleared his mind of all distractions and focused his brain to filter extraneous stimuli. Essentially unlearning how his mind perceived the world to reach that basic level of awareness between consciousness and sleep. It was well past dusk when he finally succeeded. Although, any elation he felt was quickly overcome by a brief panic, as at that moment there was a sensation of being trapped within his skull, severed from his physical senses.

Fortunately, as he had experienced this before while staring into the void, he was prepared and able to slowly adapt himself to this new reality. The feeling was very much akin to controlling an automaton from the inside. Andronichishche was confident now that he could establish this state of mind fairly quickly, and so he proceeded with the next step. Somatic neural activation. Basically, the correct placement of his fingers to precise points on his head that will activate the mentally constructed Psionitropic matrix to activate the arcane energies for the desired effect.

This first matrix he developed is rather basic in its design. It adapts the principles of detection spells by tuning it directly to his sentience, allowing him to sense intelligent creatures nearby. Hearing the vibrations of thought, so to speak. He stops short of attempting to cast the spell as he is uncertain of its actual potency. He needs a sizeable group of people in close proximity to adequately gauge the effect. As luck would have it, he knows just the tree house ...

Andronichishche stood underneath the solitary large tree on the beach that serves as a foundation for Randall's tavern. Several feet above through the square cut opening into the tree house, Andron could hear the grog and rum fueled conversations, arguments, and revelries shared by the late night patrons. Although not at peak busy time, from the noise he estimated at least half of the tables were fully occupied.

Directly before him was a piece of parchment nailed to the trunk. A long list of names, some with short epitaphs memorializing those who lost their lives to the dangers of the island. He instantly recognized Maag's handwriting and atrocious spelling, wondering if someday he too will be listed among the fallen. Shaking the disturbing thought from his head, he begins to breath deeply, rhythmically, shifting his consciousness to the precipice of cognizance.

The canvas thus prepared, Andronichishche visualizes the specific psionitropic permutation to the desired matrix and mentally links key sections to neurons that will be somatically activated. He places a hand on either size of his head and temples, carefully positioning each digit to the correct neural axis. The preparations now complete, he infuses the matrix with arcane energy to cast the Empathia Cogitatus spell.