The Hyperborean Hymns of Apollo

Tradition says that Latona [Leto] was born there [Hyperborea], and for that reason, the inhabitants venerate Apollo more than any other god. They are, in a manner, his priests, for they daily celebrate him with continual songs of praise and pay him abundant honors.

— Hecataeus of Abdera, Peri Hyperboreon

In ages past, Apollo Phoebus, "The Shining One," taught his hymns (also called consecrations), the sacred names of the Lords of the Invisible World, to the sun people of Hyperborea. To the Hyperboreans, the hymns of Apollo are sacred, although their power derives from the Magic realm, not the Divine.

The original Hyperborean priests knew many hundreds of consecrations, which were inscribed on prayer tablets and on sacred buildings. Hyperborean hymns incorporate mystical names, which allowed those who knew them to enter into trances and infuse themselves with the essence of Apollo.

Each hymn is learned as a Supernatural Ability, so normal rules for learning multiple Supernatural Abilities apply (see ArM5, page166). Only characters with The Gift or with the Virtue Hyperborean Hymnist can ever successfully recite a hymn and gain the supernatural powers it provides. Note that it is very difficult for a Hermetic magus to learn a Hyperborean hymn, although he could study any discovered hymns for Insight for integration and Breakthroughs.

Hyperborean Hymnist

Minor, Supernatural

Your character knows the mystical songs that make up a Hyperborean hymn to Apollo. Your character starts with one recited hymn, which confers the Supernatural Ability of [Hymn] 1, and 15 levels of Powers (which have already been infused at the start of play). These may be increased during character creation as normal (although you must to spend seasons in play to infuse additional Powers). You may choose this Virtue multiple times to have your character know other hymns.

Hyperborean Descent

Minor, Supernatural

Your character is a blood descendant of Apollo's chosen people, the sun people of Hyperborea. Your character has an intuitive grasp of the motivations and desires of magical creatures, particularly spirits; likewise, magical beings are more likely to react favorably towards your character, and may even treat him as a creature of equal (or greater) standing.

Your character is longer-lived than most people, gaining a –2 to all Aging rolls and a +1 bonus when resisting illness. Your character may also learn Magic Lore during character creation.

Hyperborean Descent

Major, Hermetic

Your character's Hyperborean roots are particularly strong; the character may even be a descendant of a famous Hyperborean such as Abaris or the Hyperborean maidens of Delos. Your character's appearance resembles that of the Hyperboreans, and he may appear luminescent and have goldenhued skin. As the character Warps,

Your character knows a sacred name of Apollo Phoebus, and has memorized the complex and intricate prayers, formulas, and vowel strings needed to perform a recitation. There is a different, unique Ability for each Hyperborean hymn. The hymns are recited in the Hyperborean language; however, your character does not need to know the language to recite a hymn, as the necessary words are learned by rote.

For each level of a Hymn Ability, your character gains 15 levels of powers (see below for details).

The hymns represent not only knowledge of the sacred names; if performed correctly, they also fundamentally characterize how your character expresses magic. Because of this, your character's score in a hymn adds to her Soak score against damage caused by principles of that hymn. This bonus does not stack with other bonuses from Arts or other hymns — only the highest bonus applies.

Hymns may be also used in the laboratory, by adding the Ability to your character's Lab Total if the hymn involves either the effect or item being enchanted.

Specialties: specific effects, in specific circumstances, involving specific people. (Supernatural)

This Ability lets your character speak the native tongue of Hyperborea, a deeply mystical language understood by spirits. To the untrained ear, Hyperborean sounds similar to Ancient (Attic) Greek, and a character versed in Ancient Greek may even be able to understand the gist of what is being said, as if their score in Hyperborean was four points lower than their score in Ancient Greek (if this would reduce the score to zero or less, then the character cannot understand what

is being said). Your character can also speak with many spirits and other ethereal magical creatures, and likewise is able to understand them. Knowing Hyperborean aids in the recitation of the sacred Hyperborean consecrations, but is not required. Note also that the alphabet used for Hyperborean resembles the Ancient Greek alphabet, but requires a separate level in Artes Liberales to know.

Specialties: everyday usage, poetry, religious usage, talking to spirits. (Academic)

she begins to softly glow at nighttime (this occurs at a Warping Score of 3 or higher).

This is a variation of Mythic Blood (ArM5, page 47); your character gains all the benefits of the Minor Hyperborean Descent Virtue, as well as the other benefits to spellcasting granted by Mythic Blood.

Additionally, your character can perform one of two magical feats common to Hyperboreans: either the ability to transform into a bird (either a crow or a swan), or to fly, as per the equivalent Hermetic spells, Cloak of Black Feathers (note: does not require a cloak) and Wings of Soaring Wind. Both powers have a +0 Penetration and require words (song) and gestures (libations) to invoke. This replaces the otherwise free-choice Mythic Blood grants you.

A Gifted character who learns the Hyperborean hymns as her first and primary magical tradition gains a unique form of Warping called Illumination instead of generic Warping (ArM5, pages 167–168) or Hermetic Twilight (ArM5, page 88). As Hyperborean magic infuses the practitioner with the essence of Apollo, and as the character becomes more and more Warped, he takes on aspects of Apollo and becomes increasingly spirit-like. Hyperboreans called this "Illumination" or "Apollo's Light," and both welcomed and feared it. Illumination does not affect Hermetic magi, who always experience Twilight.

Apollo's Light

Hyperborean wizards who are Warped gain an Apollonian Personality Trait with a rating equal to their Warping Score. Furthermore, if the Hyperborean wizard gains more than two Warping Points at once, he can be overwhelmed by the essence of Apollo (points gained from enchantment over a season do not count). The character must make an Illumination Control roll of Stamina + Concentration + highest Hymn Ability Score + stress die versus an Ease Factor of the character's updated Warping Score + number of Warping Points gained + aura + modifiers + stress die in order to retain control.

Illumination Control Roll: Stamina + Concentration + highest Hymn Ability score + stress die

Illumination Ease Factor: character's updated Warping Score + number of Warping Points gained + aura + modifiers + stress die

Modifiers to the Ease Factor are Hyperborean Descent ( –2 for the Minor Virtue or –4 for the Major Virtue) and the number of Powers infused (+1 for every 30 levels of Powers infused).

If the character succeeds, then he retains control. Otherwise he is overcome by Apollo's Light. This typically manifests itself in one of two ways. Firstly, the character may be transformed into one of the sacred animals of Apollo (a crow, swan, or bull); secondly, his spirit may be separated from his body (which falls unconscious and may appear to be dead). The player of the transformed character should decide which kind of transformation affects her character, and this remains the same for the rest of the character's life.

This transformation lasts for a number of hours equal to the total number of Warping Points the character has. While transformed, the character loses his human faculties and cannot invoke any hymns or other Powers that require a conscious

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Finally, your character gains (at no extra cost) a Minor Personality Flaw, Dutybound, and follows the high moral code of Apollo Phoebus (see text box, Apollonian Personality Traits).

In order to learn a hymn, the character must first, of course, find a source, whether a teacher or book. This in itself proves difficult, as the Hyperborean priests who once guarded the hymns were killed centuries ago, and the storehouses of hymnbooks and sacred carvings were either destroyed or lost.

There are numerous locations in Mythic Europe where lost Hyperborean relics or texts could be found in addition to the Basilica of Ten Thousand Columns (see below). The island of Delos in the Theban Tribunal are known to have the tombs of Hyperborean maids, while temples to Apollo can be found all over Greece and Italy, or even further north in the Transylvanian Tribunal. Rumors abounded in the ancient world of Hyperboreans traveling throughout the world, to Germany and even to Britain, where they would leave offerings at the shrines of deities of the sun or light. Relics or fragments of hymns could be located in the ruins of these shrines, although it is likely that they have been long-since looted.

Once a character has uncovered a source, his troubles are not over. The consecrations are complicated, containing strange vowel strings, prayer formulas, and countless invocations intelligible only to spirits, angels, and demons. To truly understand the hymns and infuse their essence into himself, he must first successfully recite the consecration.

Fully infusing oneself with the energies and essence of the hymn takes a season of focused contemplation, prayer, and mystic trances, after which the character is able to perform magical feats. Once learned and infused, he need never worry about botching a recitation; the Power has become a part of his essential nature.

decision to use. The transformed character also cannot change back to human form (by any means short of miraculous) or cannot re-enter his body. While in spirit form the character is entirely controlled by his emotions and cannot make any rational decisions. Automatic or continuous Powers may still be effective. The character appears to Hermetic magic as wholly an animal or spirit during this time (and is thus affected by Animal, or Mentem and Vim, magic only). The character may remember the time spent transformed as though it were a recent dream. continued from previous page

At the end of the duration of the transformation, the character must attempt to assert his human nature. This requires a second Control roll, although the total that the character needs to beat is simply his Warping Score + aura + modifiers (no stress roll). If this succeeds, the character returns to human form, or may reinhabit his body; if it fails, the character remains transformed for a full day, and may then roll again with a –1 penalty (cumulative). Eventually, the Warping Score of a Hyperborean wizard becomes so great that the transformation becomes complete and irreversible.

The Bright Lightening: Some Hyperborean wizards relished Illumination. By voluntarily failing the Control roll, they gained a number of additional Warping Points equal to their Warping Score + aura + modifiers, and in return gained a number of experience points to be applied to a Hymn Ability, or divided between Hymn Abilities, of their choice. This, of course, increased the length of time they spent transformed.

Illumination Example

Abaris Hyperberetaeos, a venerable and powerful Hyperborean priest, is the target of a powerful mystical effect, which inflicts 3 Warping Points. He therefore needs to make an Illumination Control roll. Abaris's Warping Score is 8 (223 Warping Points). His Stamina is +2, his Concentration is 5, his highest Hymn Ability score is 11, he has the Major Hyperborean Descent Virtue (–4), and has 450 levels of powers infused into himself (+15). His Illumination Control total (before a stress die is rolled) is 18. He is within a +3 magical aura. The Illumination Ease Factor (before a stress die is rolled) is 26 (updated Warping Score 9 + Warping Points gained 3 + aura 3 – Major Hyperborean Descent Virtue 4 + infused power levels 15). If Abaris fails his Illumination Control roll (which is likely), he spends 226 hours (approximately nine and a half days) transformed into an animal or spirit. Alternatively, he could choose to voluntarily fail the roll, suffer a further 23 Warping Points (Warping 9 + aura 3 – Hyperborean Descent 4 + infused power levels 15) and gain 23 extra experience points to put into his Hymn Abilities (in which case, he would spend 23 extra hours transformed, for a total of 249 hours).

He cannot infuse a Power that costs more levels than he has available (either through his 15 levels from each point of his Ability score, or additional levels gained by spending vis — see below).

In order to successfully recite the Hyperborean hymn and infuse himself with a magical Power, a character's hymn recitation total of Communication + Hymn Ability + modifiers + aura must equal or exceed the hymn recitation Ease Factor.

Hymn Recitation Total: Communication + Hymn Ability + modifiers + aura

Hymn Recitation Ease Factor: (total level of Power(s) + Power level modifiers) / 3

If the recitation total does not exceed the Ease Factor, then the character cannot infuse himself with the energies of the sacred names. If his recitation total equals or exceeds the Ease Factor of the Power, then at the end of the season, he infuses the chosen Power into himself.

Having infused the Power, he may perform it at will without the need to roll, as many times per day as you have predetermined (see below). There is no limit to the number of consecrations a character may infuse (so long as you keep raising his Ability score, or use vis) or how many Powers he may have active at once (although Warping rules may apply).

Invoking the Power takes roughly as long as performing a formulaic Hermetic spell, and requires that the character speak a brief prayer. He may not invoke the Hyperborean hymn Powers silently (even if he has the Quiet Magic Virtue, which only effects Hermetic magic), and he gains no extra benefits from increasing or decreasing the volume of the invocation. Hyperborean hymns do not require gestures. Some hymns, such as the Seven Beautiful Names of Light, may take longer to invoke during nighttime.

Hymn Recitation Example

Quaesitor Moratamis stumbles upon an ancient manuscript that records the sacred hymn of Psyrinpheu, the fire breather. After much difficult study, she manages to learn the