The Way of the Wychlaran

[tropic]

The Way of the Wychlaran
Delisse Iltazyara
Disciple of the Wychlaran
1377 DR

Author's Note:
Since beginning the dajemma - a journey, and rite of discovery - and leaving my homeland of Rashemen, I notice important differences in the magical practices of the Wychlaran, the Witches of Rashemen, and the West, the lands beyond the Rashemi mountains. This tome is meant to explore the ways and methods of the Wychlaran to enlighten those who would learn of Eastern magic and its mysteries.

Chapter 1: Spirits and Mystery

Perhaps due to its climate, its insular geography or some hidden nature, the Rashemi people do not live like Westerners. Large cities, with some exceptions, are an unknown phenomenon. The Rashemi are close to the land and its spirits, and our society reflects this distinction.

In Rashemen are worshipped "the Three": Khelliara, Bhalla, and The Hidden One, known in the west as Mielekki, Chauntea, and Mystra respectively. Khelliara represents the untamed forests. Bhalla represents the stewardship of the lands, which ultimately support every layer of society. The Hidden One represent the metaphysical, the forces unseen which nevertheless shape our lives.

To understand these principles is to understand the framework with which the Rashemi use and view magic.

Chapter 2: The Wychlaran

The Wychlaran are witches, and in Rashemen they are what clerics, judges, and soothsayers are to the West.

In some ways, this represents a purity of employing the Weave. It is known that those blessed by their patrons with magic can manipulate the Weave, but they do so with the Hidden One's permission. The Wychlaran, either through study or natural ability, accept the personal responsibility of power and use it to serve those among whom they dwell.

This alone does not represent a significant difference in the ways in which the Wychlaran understand magic. The difference lies in the attitude towards what is known, and can be known, about the Weave.

Chapter 3: The Mysteries of the Weave

In the West, spellcasters often take the attitude that, if only the proper words and motions might be employed, any magic is possible. The Weave, then, seems to be a static force, as a lock that only needs the proper key. And when no spell is cast, or no magic active, the Weave may as well not exist. It is something like a white linen sheet laying flat on the ground, only waiting to be picked up and thrown, shaped, draped.

To the Wychlaran, the Weave is a shifting, sifting force of nature. It is an impossibly long and colorful sheet billowing in the wind from atop a mountain and casting color, light and air at those whom it would grace. The varying degrees at which we are able to "look up" from the duties of daily life and revel in that beauty are the degrees at which we are "in tune" with the Weave, and able to access and employ its power. And when we are not looking, the light and winds it casts are illuminating us and our surroundings, pushing in different directions to different purposes.

That the Weave cannot be described in words is a truism that the Rashemi know well. It must be described in metaphor and experienced through action.

Epilogue:

Casting, then, to the Wychlaran is a personal experience. To feel the Weave flow and see its effects is an affirmation that the world is not always as it seems: beneath the surface are layered truths and currents of power.

It is not my intention to spurn the methods of the West. A thinking mind can see efficiency and effectiveness at work. Indeed, I hope to learn the new ways. I write this to give those educated in the western tradition a new perspective on their discipline.

To experience the Weave and the world as extant mysteries and to cleave to the principles of sacrifice and service: these are the ways of the Wychlaran.