Recent Articles
- Art
- Articles
- Devil's List
- Economics
- Feedback
- Good Words
- Inventory
- Lady C-3PO
- Location
- Mail Harry
- Pataphor
- Petty Justified
- Retro Christmas
- Tech Fads
- Test
- The Book of Pointless
- The Story in Your Head
- The Third Millennium
- Three Oofs To A Gyaaah
- Tipping
- Toothpaste
- Tootsie Roll Pops
- Troubleshooting
- World Famous Greenbelt Utility Pole
|
| This website and its contents are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License |
Demi-Ontology
Demi-Ontology is the study of objects and beings brought into existence via Artifice. While it is true that The Aspects used Artifice to create the universe, there is a measurable difference between the natural objects produced by The Aspects and what Humanity can produce. Artifice users who are skilled at the production of demi-ontological objects are called "Summoners". The ability to tell the difference between a Demi-Ontological object and a natural one is commonly taught to novice Artifice users.
The primary signifier of a Demi-Ontological object is that it requires Artifice to produce, and will decay without some amount of maintenance Artifice applied to it. The amount of Artifice required can vary widely thanks to a variety of factors. A summoner may be able to produce an object that exist perpetually with nothing more than an ambient free Arifice field, while larger or more complicated objects may require steady channeling by one or more Summoners.
Demi-Ontological objects are sometimes referred to as "Artiphysical" objects, but this is not accurate, as that term applies to Artifice-powered alterations to reality rather than the conjuration of physical objects.
Demi-Ontological beings, often called "Demons" for short, are the most complex example of applied Demi-Ontology. Due to their complex nature, Demons most often come from existing well-known stories where their form can be pulled from popular understanding. Summoning an object requires extensive knowledge of that object, which in turn puts a tremendous burden on a Summoner to produce a functional being. Starting from a known cultural object makes summoning much easier.
Summoning is highly regulated in most places where Artifice use is common, due to the large amounts of Artifice involved. Improper summoning has been known to result in rapid energy release, dangerous Artiphysical effects, personal injury, and death. Even skilled summoners operate using formalized and tested rituals for safety reasons.
Estavelle extensively relies on the labor of summoned beings, specifically a heavily modified version of Johnny Wallbank, the protagonist of a popular Sci-Fi novel series. The "Johnnies" come from specialized Summoning Houses and bear little resemblance to the fictional character, to the point that many people mistake them for a form of Artiphysical automaton. Modern Johnnies are leased out to local businesses and are delivered pre-loaded with instructions and enough Artifice within them to last about 8-12 hours.