Aspects

Aspects can be considered conceptual ways of thinking and approaching broad, abstract concepts and how those concepts affect the world of Nodd.

The six aspects combined create the entire realm of magical thought in the context of Nodd.

For something to lean to one aspect or another does not restrict it to that aspect but instead speaks somehow to its nature. Slyne, for example, are a species aspected towards death due to their need to survive on the suffering on others. This does not mean, however, that a slyne could not become a Vivirian mage focused on the aspect of life, or any other for that matter, but simply suggests something about the underlying concept of what it is to be a slyne.

The Aspect of Life

The Life aspect can be misleading as one tends to associate life with healing and restoration, and this is true to a certain point. It is, however, important to remember that life, unchecked, breeds catastrophe. Species that reproduce without predators kill the very land they rely on to survive, and doom themselves as a result. Plants which grow unfettered choke out other plants in a cold, uncaring battle to survive. This aspect focuses on growth and its importance without concern for moderation in doing so. A body which heals itself too eagerly or grows without stop forms tumors and unsightly scars. To simply grow without care is to become twisted and corrupt.

The mages of House Viviria fervently pursue and encourage growth in this very form. They find beauty in this exact thing, the uncontrolled, wild nature of growth and life, and this aspect guides their beliefs and rituals.

The Aspect of Death

Much in the way that many would misinterpret the face value of Life the same could be said of Death. Those who embrace this aspect see the importance and value of Death in existence. They would suggest that to live without Death is to live without purpose. It is Death which brings nutrients back to the soil and it is Death which fills our bellies time and time again, until we fill another's belly. Destruction is an inherent part of death and is necessary for its enactment.

The mages of House Umbrasia revere death in dark rituals for this very reason. They do not necessarily deny the beauty of life, the necessity of change, the pleasure of flesh, the depth of the mind, nor the allure of control, they simply see the cycle of death as the most important, powerful force behind it all.

The Aspect of Flesh

The Aspect of Flesh encompasses all things relating to the experience of experiencing. To be aware of sensation on either part of the spectrum, pleasure or pain, is to know this aspect. Those who find spiritual satisfaction in carnal pleasure and who find meaning in painful lessons align well with it. The Aspect of Flesh contains its own duality, not unlike that of the aspects of Life and Death with one another, in the nature of pleasure and pain. Both are necessary to know that either exists.

The mages of House Vorn indulgently explore the flesh in every way they can. While many see their gruesome displays of torture and gore as nothing more than that a member of Vorn understands that intense pain is an experience of beauty in and of itself, an experiential treasure. The same can be said of orgies of the wildest abandon, the sort that would make even a citizen of Nodd blush, for it is there when one is fully beneath the sway of lust and sensation that truth can be found.

The Aspect of Mind

The Aspect of Mind delves deeply into the concept of knowing and understanding. To those who explore this aspect, however, the result of thinking is not important but instead the thinking itself. They are the sorts who believe that the pursuit of knowledge, not the knowledge itself, is the true thing of import. Subjective perception may as well be objective reality in this realm of thought and many would wonder aloud if there were any difference at all. To explore this aspect is to realize that there simply is no way for a subjective consciousness to perceive existence in any other way.

The mages of House Psilysium utilize substances and spells to explore these realms heavily. Many among their number do not see "alternative" states of mind under the influence of substances to be alternatives at all because that implies the default one is somehow inherently the "right" one. These mages question their own existence with genuine curiosity that baffles, and often frustrates, those of a different mindset.

The Aspect of Control

The Aspect of Control deals with the need to understand the working of things. It might be easy to confuse with Change due to the perception of similarity but the two are near opposite in Nodd's context. A desire to understand the process of something, to reproduce it, modify it, and ideally improve it, is to embody the Aspect of Control. Someone who embraces this aspect believes almost anything can be improved upon, and should be, and it is there they seek to exert their control.

The mages of House Omnillian exemplify this best in their endless efforts to study and find further ways to refine, use, and take advantage of gloam. They perform vivisections to understand the body and seek new truths and view magic as a formulaic way of manipulating existence itself. But one should be careful to not confuse Control with Order, for the Aspect of Control has no need of orderly notions or thinking.

The Aspect of Change

The Aspect of Change is the final aspect and it embraces the natural need for all things to not remain as they are. While Control demands an understanding of processes Change cares not so long as the end result is different and remarkable. Change can be seen in almost every aspect of a citizens life; physical, social, mental, magical, and so forth. But those who deeply align with the Aspect of Change take it a step further - they believe that the real beauty in existing is the way in which things can shift over time. One situation, body, shape, or life is as good as the next if you can swim freely between them and understand, ultimately, all are part of an immense, ever-changing system.

The mages of House Morphoria take this aspect quite literally in their tendency to alter themselves and those around them, as well as leave things up to chance. There's simply no need for predictability when all you want is for anything at all to happen - you need only make sure something happens.