The Six Fudjàhs

The Fudjàhs

There usually is quite a few misconceptions when people start to speak of the Fudjàhs.

The first most common one is that Fudjàhs are not really objects, not are they unique and all-powerful. Many are those who would spend infinite resources into finding them for all too common purposes, but they would all be doomed to fail. Does it mean they are useless and merely trinkets just good for a fireplace decoration? Certainly not.

However, to fully grasp what they are, it seems pertinent to plunge ourselves back into their origins.

As we said previously, when the Guardians first came to Alienor, they had their own understanding of how to manipulate their environment, which they adapted to suit Alienor’s ecosystem. What they did not quite fully expect though was that another group had equally powerful understanding of how to manipulate their environment, though not quite in the same manner as themselves, and in a more direct way so to speak. We are talking of course of the Alienomancians.

While the Guardians’ knowledge came from an encompassing point of view, their manipulations, so to speak, had to go from that particular level, and oftentimes could induce unpredictable effects. What they quickly noticed from the Alienomancians’ magic was that it was elemental, and went straight to the core of the planet itself, instead of going around —again in a manner of speaking.

What they intended to do, in sharing knowledge with the Alienomancians, was in part to harness that power to their benefit, as they enjoyed efficiency as much as they were curious. Of course, the sharing wasn’t at all straightforward, as for a part Alienomancians were prone to secrecy, and reluctant to initiate outsiders and for another part, the Guardians were also arrogant and slightly disdainful, especially in the beginning.

What came out of their exchanges was six blends, or “power objects”, one for each of the elements of the tradition held by the Alienomancians. In that, the objects weren’t really object as much as they were blends of magic, or recipes and methods to achieve certain purposes. As such, some of these blends have become more known through iconic objects, which often served as focal points to harness the state of mingic (mind/magic) necessary to wield them.

Each of the Fudjàhs was then a special blend of skills allowing for a more efficient manipulation of the elements (we would say “consciousness”) on Alienor.

Some of them would be translatable to some extent in other dimensions (like our Earth), sometimes with a degree of unexpected side-effects however. But we are not here to talk about these other dimensions.

One thing we need to understand about the elemental “magic” of the Alienomancians, is that the elements were not only understood literally, but more specifically as related to certain movements of consciousness, very tightly tied to the understanding of the workings of Alienor. Very few Alienomancians managed to master all six elements in a lifetime, and Barath’Dum was said to be one of these. However it was not uncommon that they should be able to gather power from more than one, and even be able to do it at the same time.

• The Airs were movement, free and unhampered movement. Airs being ubiquitous, once mastered would allow great flexibility over one’s location. (color: blue/yellow)
• The Flames then were understood as what we would call emotions, core feelings. Their mastery would allow among other things to manipulate illusions and grant power on suggestible individuals. (color: orange/violet)
• The Waters were about form and stability, and taught about formlessness and flux, and how things could be shaped, differently or otherwise. (color: green/purple)
• The Woods were about the very essence of life, which was called wivre, and how it flows, within and without. (color: brown/green)
• The Earths were about matter at the core level, mostly used for inanimate forms as using it on animate forms could be unsettling for the subject’s wivre. It was about transmutation —in a more innerward manner than for the Waters. (color: red/brown)
• Finally the Forgotten (occasionally called Æres or The Ores by Alienomancians of the First Ages, in reference to the deeply buried metals and treasures which would be kept away from man’s grasp) were about boundaries, and all that is beyond. Its use and full mastery was rare as tapping into this magic was by nature rather unpredictible. (color: silver/black)

The skills which the Guardians gave access to was to channel these blends of magic through or into something that wouldn’t be altered by the magic itself. In other words, to “store” not only the memory but also the capacity itself into an object.

The Guardians already had similar technologies, such as their capacitor, but none of them were very adequate to transform parts of the Alienoran reality without turning it upside down so to speak.

So, it usually took an Alienomancian and a Guardian to be able to “create” such power objets —it should be mentioned that they were powerful only for those knowing of either Guardians or Alienomancians skills.

One would ask, what was the purpose of such creations? Why would each of the parties agree to create them, as they probably didn’t need such form of storage? Well, the answer, as in most matters is not straightforward and unique. Various incentives were at play at the moment, such as the thirst for new discoveries (a capacity equally shared on both sides) and the interest of keeping “alive” the knowledge of the ancients and more powerful ones.

If we shall make a slight digression, we would say that in many ways, without the creation of these Fudjàhs, we could safely surmise none of the races of dragons and nirguals would have been born. For eventhough the creatures were known in myths of the ancient times and prophecies, there haven’t had any actual sightings of them (apart from the occasional lunatic) before the “disappearance” of the Guardians (who used the myths at their advantage… But more on that later).

So as you have understood, these objects could be virtually anything, all of them bearing one of the six flavours of magic. But interestingly, as they were handed over through myths and the like, they kept in most depictions the same form as an object, usually that of the Prime Fudjah —the first successful creation for each of them.

• The Key of Ghört, was the first Fudjàh to have been mastered, not surprisingly as The Guardians’ tunnel technology bore a strong affinity to the Airs. The “key” was from all sources depicted as a round opalescent shape, with an astroid shape carved on it. It was used to travel physically or remotely through the “tunnels” crisscrossing the very core of Alienor.
• The Cup of Margilonia was the second Fudhjàh to have been stabilized. It was said to have been the work of the Alienomancian Uriol (also spelt as Huriol, First King of the Uglings in later legends) but was lost as all of the Prime Fudjàhs during the phasing of the Phrëal. Another facsimile of the Cup, virtually identical with a few enhancements, was designed by the Traveller known as Leonard, as a tribute to the ancient master from the line of whom he was taught his skills.
• The Sunstone of Agnima was the third Fudjàh to have been invented. Its early form was that of a magnificent gem which made it extremely desirable, and was worn by a line of Guardian Jokans, down to Nareena.
• The Unguent of Nærvel was the fourth, and due to its nature (associated to the Waters), was the most complex to capture in a stable form. It was the only Fudjàh that had to be used right after it was reinvented, and only the “recipe” could be handed down. The line of Guardian Shu Lum were keepers of this Fudjàh.
• The Wand of Selvaniel was the fifth Fudjàh to have been invented. It took a long time for the Guardians and Alienomancians to figure out how to create it, as the Woods required a living thing to carry its power, thus the wand, and an even longer time to fix its power into a practical form. The Guardian Vogel, the Elder of the Guardians, was the Guardian who managed this exceptional feat, after countless years of experiments and physical self-alterations. His success proved decisive in allowing some Guardians to continue living on the Duane and Murtuane after the phasing.
• The Mirror of Lejüs was the sixth and last Fudjàh, and was for long believed to be an unattainable goal. It was only a fortuitous experiment of the Guardian Keliom that managed to create this object, by combining elements from both the Duane and the Murtuane.