Magic Outside The Priesthoods

Outside the system of religious service, Egyptian tales, and funereal goods, reveal two rare, and very powerful, varieties of magician.

This group of wizards was considerably scarcer, and more powerful, than the Keepers of the Books.They were religious, but used their status with powerful faeries to bully lesser Magical spirits into obeying their commands. Their magic was similar to that of spirit masters, and they are an ancestral tradition to the sihr, the modern wizards of Egypt, described in The Cradle and the Crescent, a Hermetic variant of whom are found in Houses of Hermes: Societates.

The most durable of the treasures left by the commanders of spirits are creatures trapped in mystical containers. These creatures, who may be either faeries or magical creatures, can communicate with whomever holds their container. A bargain struck with these beings is binding, but only the specific words, not the intent, need to be adhered to. Most trapped creatures are found in tombs, but in Ancient times most were buried in religious precincts. It was thought that the gods would watch over the prisoners and prevent their escape.

Some creatures, who are grateful for rescue and like their rescuers, forgo opportunities to cause harm. A rescued spirit may be converted into a permanent ally by performing a series of favors for it. These favors are similar in nature and difficulty to the Ordeals of a Mystery (see The Mysteries) but do not require Occult Lore. The adventure in which the player character rescues the creature may also be taken into account, if it was suitably difficult.

Most rescued creatures resent their loss of freedom, first to their container, and then to the human they must serve, however briefly, before they are liberated. If the captured being is a faerie, some magi suggest, it is best to just give the creature its freedom immediately and unconditionally. This is a gift, and many faeries are required, by their nature, to give a gift in exchange. Their gift must be worth as much as to the human, from the faerie's odd perspective, as its freedom. Although the player character has little control over what gift is given, or what trouble accepting it may cause, the character does not need to deal with a truculent faerie. A character similarly liberating a magical creature should expect no reward, and unconditional freedom does not prevent the being attacking its benefactor.