Cyclic magic

Overview

This is the improved quality the Urizen Citadel Guard developed as a consequence of the Unmade trove. It cycles through six options over the course of six events, then comes back to the start. Once set in motion, the cycle can't be interrupted and continues to run forever. The cycle was begun during the Winter Solstice 379YE, appropriately enough with the technique of the Bond of Tears.

This quality incorprorates all the benefits of the magic quality.

Cyclic Resonance

The ilium-infused mage armour and mage weapons have empowered the Citadel Guard with additional opportunities to bring their magic to bear during a military campaign. This is an enchantment of their existing capabilities, and does not alter the ability to use the General as conduit for delivering magic, nor their ability to gather crystal mana when undertaking arcane consolidation.

The energies tapped by the equipment from the unmade trove shifts and changes in a predicable cycle, one familiar to any mage who has studied the night magic ritual Align the Celestial Net. Through this cycle, Day leads to Winter, Winter leads to Spring, Spring leads to Night, Night leads to Summer, Summer leads to Autumn, and Autumn leads to Day again returning the cycle to its starting point. There seems to be nothing that can be done to impede, speed up, slow down, or interrupt the cycle once it has been set in motion, meaning that the General must think carefully about how best to employ the techniques the quality offers.

In each case, the General uses the power of the appropriate realm by issuing appropriate orders. Each technique allows a unique attacking order to be employed. There is no requirement that one of these orders be used; the army can still use arcane consolidation or any of the basic army orders.

In some cases, these techniques exceed what is achievable with ritual magic alone. This is primarily due to the skill and experience of the combat magicians and ritualists who accompany the army. They do not represent a single incidence of magic use but rather the careful and synchornised use of many magical effects over an entire season.

A word of caution – no other army in the world possesses mastery of cyclic resonance. There may be unexpected interactions between the six techniques and the power of enchantments, curses, or even the actions of other armies.

Benefits

The magicians and artisans of the Citadel Guard provide a constant benefit to the force, allowing it to help with the targetting rituals and to take the arcane consolidation order. In addition, the powerful benefits of cyclic magic mean that one additional technique is available to them each event. These techniques follow each other in strict rotation; each technique allows the army the option of issuing a unique order that season.

Magic

• Rituals that target a territory may be performed using the general of the Citadal Guard as a focus
• Can use the Arcane Consolidation order when defending

The Citadel Guard contains many magicians, and soldiers trained to fight alongside magicians and help with the targeting of powerful rituals. If they are defending a territory then they can provide a bounty of crystal mana to their general for use in creating helpful enchantments.

Arcane Consolidation

• The Citadel Guard generates mana crystals based on the number of victory points generated.
• Does not change army strength, casualties inflicted or casualties suffered.

The army concentrates on making magical preparations, shoring up their reserves of mana crystals and seeking out nearby sources of magic. A portion of this bounty in the form of mana crystals is passed to the army general so that they can make the most appropriate use of it.

Ritual targeting
The Citadel Guard contains many specialized magicians and magical experts. The general of the army can serve as a focus for any ritual that targets a territory, replacing the requirement for that ritual to be performed at a regio in the target territory. This only works for rituals targeting the territory where the army is currently on campaign. The general must be present throughout the ritual. Examples of rituals that can be empowered in this way might include Frozen Citadel of Cathan Canae (although the target territory must still contain a suitable region), or a curse such as Rivers Run Red or Naeve's Twisting Blight.

Technique of the Celestial Key

• Resonance of the Day Realm
• Preceded by: Autumn; Succeeded by: Winter
• Allows use of the Enlightened Scrying attacking order

Day resonates strongly with the symbols of divination and revelation. Even the merest apprentice beginning their journey to magical masters learns first how to divine the nature of magic before ever they touch it. There are few secrets hidden to the great masters of the Day realm. With this technique, binding the resonance of day to support the art of gathering and sorting information, the magi of the army can accumulate an awe-inspiring amount of intelligence in a short time.

Enlightened Scrying

• The army generates a map of the territory they are in.
  
• Casualties inflicted by this army are decreased by two fifths.
  
• The ability of this army to capture territory is decreased by a fifth.

This attacking order uses divination magic to discover extensive details about the territory within which the army is campaigning. In addition to the map of the territory, it provides details similar to those acquired by a spy network including the location and size of fortifications, details of regions, and the presence of any actively operated bourse resource.

Technique of the Bond of Tears

• Resonance of the Winter Realm
• Preceded by: Day; Succeeded by: Spring
• Allows use of the Winter's Mantle attacking order.

Winter resonates with symbols of cruelty and survival. It preserves, but for all great powers of the winter magic there is a cost to be paid. At the same time that magic averts harm to the Citadel guard and allows them to press forward, their suffering falls on the allies of the army who take the injuries that might otherwise have crippled Urizen magicians. The technique is of limited value unless there is another allied army present to take any losses the Citadel Guard might otherwise suffer.

Winter's mantle

• The ability of this army to conquer territory is increased by a fifth.
• If the army is fighting alongside any allied army, then all casualties received by this army are divided up between the other allied armies

Winter preserves, but not without a cost. With powerful enchantments, crippling injuries are averted – but must be suffered somewhere. The army can afford to press forward to victory, secure in the knowledge that for a short time at least any losses will fall on their allies rather than themselves.

Technique of the Transcendent Claw

• Resonance of the Spring Realm
• Preceded by: Winter; Succeeded by: Night
• Allows use of the Onrushing Storm attacking order.

Spring resonates with symbols of destructive energy unleashed, with both storms and natural erosion by plants and weather. By channelling this resonance, the walls of a fortification can be overwhelmed either by a slow green tide or with devastating weather phenomenon.

Onrushing Storm

• The army must be attacking a region in a territory containing a named fortification or else the order defaults to cautious advance. The fortification need not be in the region being attacked, and this order will not cause it to be involved directly in the campaign.
• All casualties inflicted by this army are directed at the named fortification.

This order damages and potentially destroys a fortification; it is especially powerful in that it can be used from a distance – the Citadel Guard do not need to engage the fortification and can indeed be involved in a campaign in an entirely different part of the territory.

Technique of the Shadowed Threshold

• Resonance of the Night Realm
• Preceded by: Spring; Succeeded by: Summer
• Allows use of the Walk hidden paths attacking order.

Night resonates with symbols of mysteries, secrecy, obfuscation, and inspiration. Binding the resonance and weaving night magic, the army can evade sight in a limited way, and take advantage of hidden or perilous routes through dangerous territory. One use for this power might be to pass through an area infested with vallorn without attracting it's attention.

Walk Hidden Paths

• During this season, the army can move through one territory, regardless of whether it is in Imperial control, without stopping.
• If the army uses this ability to pass through a territory containing an enemy force then the ability of this army to capture territory is increased by one-fifth.

Any effect that would harm or impede travel through the chosen territory is greatly reduced in effect and may be nullified. This attacking order allows the army to move through a named territory as part of their normal movement while avoiding dangers such as enemy armies.

Technique of the Mountainous Ascent

• Resonance of the Summer Realm
• Preceded by: Night; Succeeded by: Autumn
• Allows the use of the Irresistible Spear attacking order.

Summer resonates with symbols of prowess and triumph. This technique allows the army to identify key strategic objectives, and helps to secure those objectives, allowing the army to quickly establish safe camps. At the same time, summer magic is used to infuse temporary fortifications to grant them extra strength, providing tactically significant locations which can serve as centres from which the army to expand outwards.

Irresistible Spear

• The army suffers no penalty to victory points generated to capture a region which is not adjacent to a controlled region in the same territory.

Summer magic strengthens and supports the army allowing it to swiftly establish a beachhead in a new territory, or to make an unexpected strike deep into enemy controlled areas.

Technique of the Coiling Chain

• Resonance of the Autumn Realm
• Preceded by: Summer; Succeeded by: Day
• Allows use of the raise the glass labyrinth attacking order

Autumn resonates with symbols of travel, communication, and binding. Channelled and focused, magicians warp synchronicity and serendipity to interfere with the command structure of opposing armies, impeding their ability to coordinate. The lingering effects of the magic warp the ability of enemy soldiers to move away.

Raise the Glass Labyrinth

• Opposing armies or navies may only move one territory in the season following the one in which this order is taken.

This attacking order weaves autumn magic around opposing armies, entangling them with a barrage of curses that interfere with the chain of command in subtle ways. It also creates a cumulative warping of chance that makes it difficult for them to withdraw or advance.