The Veil

This setting is my first story but I did not come up with this idea alone. I used inspiration from other CYOA stories with whom I have received permission to use some of their terminology. Please give thanks to reddit user TroyX-CYOAMaker and check out Keeper of Magic CYOA. It's based around the whole Apostle of Cassandra idea and what became the Veil aspect of the story. -Ralek

The year is 2001 and this world is split, separating the modern mundane world of technology, science and mythology from the Naturals; a world filled with monstrous creatures and supernatural beings and powers. This division is done by the phenomenon known as The Veil. These two fundamentally different sides of the same coin are labeled the Mundane and the Naturals. Mortals such as humanity reside within the mundane, while magical beings such as elves, dragons and trolls reside in the Natural.

The Veil is thought to be the subconscious collective of mankind suppressing their awareness of the supernatural to such an extent that it warps reality that all Natural beings are rendered intangible to all mundane people. Communication through technology or magic is impossible between a Natural and a Mundane. For technology a phone call would become nothing but static and even writing on paper would look like nothing but gibberish. This disbelief the Veil causes also translates into an inability for a mundane person to see or be personally affected by magic cast on them by a Natural.

Despite the protection the Veil offers, it isn't foolproof. Mundane folk may be immune to magic that specifically targets them like enchantments and curses, but if the environment is targeted they too will be affected as well i.e. fireball. Powerful glamours imbued into worn items that allows a Natural to take the guise of a Human will be able to fool the Veil allowing the Natural to interact with humanity freely. (Even while glamoured, a Mundane is still incapable of seeing an Natural’s magic)

Fear not, while humanity may reside on the mundane side of the Veil this does not stop one from learning and developing their magical talents. However, be forewarned that developing such talents brings great harm. Magic performed by another mundane is visible and can affect other humans. These human practitioners will become awakened to the Natural side of the Veil and feel its protective influence be pulled away allowing them to be affected by the magic of a Natural.

Nothing of an awakened human’s existence has changed, merely their perception of things. Meaning they are still freely capable of interacting with regular mundane humans.

This thinning of the Veil around a Mundane who practices magic can also affect third parties who witness magic performed by these humans. The speed of which they lose the protection of the Veil and begin seeing the Natural side is entirely dependent on the witness. If they suppress what they saw, play it off as a trick of the light or something else the Veil protects them as it did before. But should they investigate how that man threw fire from his hands or trapped lightning in a bottle, they will begin to see the Naturals.

Studying magic the word ether will come up often. Ether is more than just the energy used to create spells. The best way to understand what ether is is to envision it as an ocean. This ocean is the epitome of nature, it is essential to life and it moves ebbing and flowing affecting everything around it. Then imagine that every action that had magic attached to it has an impact on the ocean in a small or a big way depending on its severity. Small actions that do not disturb the ocean on a grand scale are like small stones thrown into the ocean creating small ripples that typically aren’t felt by anybody. But imagine and destruction being like a rock, the more and destruction brought on by the spell, the larger the rock, the bigger the ripple in the ocean. These ripples have a massive effect on those who can feel ether; like magic practitioners and supernatural beings, to the point it can overwhelm them causing pain, sometimes physical damage and at the very worst . Undead practitioners having lost their connection to life, have a difficult time detecting any type of ripples within the ether.

Undead are unnatural to the Veil and while they are unaffected by it their very presence begins to untangle the protective strands around any mundane they interact with who knows their true nature.

Cats are great at sensing the presence of Naturals whereas dogs make a great early warning system for undead.

Alchemy is complex and not really understood by most mages. The ingredients of each potions are different for every person. However, all potions are made with seven ingredients: one for each sense, one for the mind, and one for the soul. The basic concept is to add the ingredients one by one, stir, wait, and shove magic into it at the end. The process can take several hours. It is quite easy to create two potions at the same time, but three is beyond the capability of most potioneers. Unlike spells, potions work based on the ingredients rather than intent.

Typical practitioners of magic are classified into these categories: Wizards who study for their powers over the course of years. Sorcerers are individuals and in some cases entire families who have magic coursing through their very blood. Parsons, a person who’s faith and belief in something has helped unlock their magical talents. Deities do exist in the world of the Veil, though becoming a Parsons doesn’t require a faith in an All Mighty merely a strong enough belief in something. Druids are self-sufficient survivalists and isolationists who use solely magic to survive in the wild. Witches buy, barter and trade magical power from spirits and demons in exchange for many things, pieces of yourself, memories, or even bits of your humanity. Warlocks are similar to witches, however they serve a single patron; completing favors in exchange for immediate power. Shamans are the weakest of the practitioners but this path is also the safest in which they channel spirits and use their powers as their own. Ritualists are magical practitioners that focus on the study of Omnimancy; magical effects through ritualistic incantations and foci.

An Apostle of Cassandra are rare individuals who have been granted their talents and magical skills by the forenamed Cassandra. A legendary practitioner of immense power who once attempted a ritual that would have gifted her omnipotence but was halted by a supercharged paladin of Dagon; a lawful good deity and was promptly cursed to hand out her magics to good and kindly people as an act of redemption. Unlike other practitioners, an Apostle comes out of the gate immensely powerful with a limitless capstone for improvement. Unlike other practitioners of the art, an Apostle is capable of remaining on the mundane side of the Veil and retain its protections indefinitely should they choose so. However, once they’ve chosen a side of the Veil they are unable to change. If one flaw exists for an Apostle it is that their magic, having been gifted, can be taken away by other Apostles making any alliances among them short-term with a large deal of backstabbing.

Realms

Underworld - The Underworld, also known as Afterlife, is an umbrella name for all realms where people are judged and live in the afterlife. Some magical scholars believe the Underworld isn’t a true realm but a path to your destined afterlife like Heaven or Hell. Some consider the undead restless spirits who escaped the underworld, but banishing an undead like a ghost does not work.

Hell - Hell is a realm that exists in the deepest and darkest layers of the universe, in the farthest and distant place possible from the light of Paradise. Home to the numerous demonic legions and the demon lords that command them.

Heaven - Heaven or Paradise is a home to all of the Gods and pantheons that were or currently worshiped by the ancient cultures of the planet Earth.

Fairyland - also commonly known as Faerie, is the alternate realm where the majority of the fae originated and live.

Organizations

With the creation of the Veil in centuries past, thirteen powers emerged to bring order to the chaos, or in some cases to fan its flames. Each member of the top thirteen either is a single individual of immense powers or a group. They are not listed in any order of importance or power and have taken to giving themselves an associated codename in case information is leaked to the mundane world.

• Arcadia - a paramilitary organization full of werewolves hellbent on destroying the vampire menace.
• Gold Works - a group that literally bought the bank…This group acts as a go between the awakened mundane and Naturals providing security for private funds and a currency exchange if one is needing services on either side of the Veil. They were founded by parasons of the Opsus faith.
• Even Hand - a group of magic practitioners that sees magical beings as the next rulers of the world. It is believed the group is an extremist group of Magnus worshipers.
• The Court - a collection of Verum Immortui vampire clans under the leadership of a Monarch that holds the title of Dracula.
• Big Red - a colossal sized Red Dragon that is beyond ancient and yes the creator of the gum.
• Gallowed - a gathering of the underworld's worst criminals, rapists and serial killers all led by a man who may be Judas Iscariot himself. For gatherings, a member of the Gallowed ties a rope off around their neck to imitate a noose.
• Fae - to avoid upsetting either Fae Court both are listed together at the same time. The Seelie and Unseelie.
• Gleipnir- a group of elves and dwarves responsible for creating and maintaining some of the worlds greatest feats of alchemy.
• Night’s Herald - An order of warlocks devoted to shub-niggurath. Lots of tentacles here…you have been warned so bring lube.
• Siren - an elven Banshee who’s talent for prophecy and divination makes her a skilled information broker.
• The Assembly - the humans who have been made aware of the existence of the supernatural and work on ensuring the safety of Humanity by trying to create laws they find themselves incapable of enforcing.
• Dagon’s Chosen - the paladin of Dagon -yes Dagon in this is LG- responsible for ending Cassandra’s quest for Omnipotence and cursing her indirectly creating what would later become the Apostles of Cassandra.
• The Apostles - they smile at one another, playing nicely but plan on killing one another as soon as it’s convenient.

Who are you?

Who are you to discover the existence of the Veil, of the Naturals and magic? Did you witness an unexplainable accident or crime? Did you witness an awakened Human perform magic before your very eyes? Were you attacked by an Undead? Are you one such Natural creature like a werebeast, troll or elf?

Note: You are welcome to use 1st, 2nd or 3rd person when writing.