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Sympathy

concept · importance 80 · 8 theories

“Temerant's taught, equivalent-exchange magic of energy and will”

also known as bindings, sympathists, the sympathetic arts, the sympathetic link

Appearance§

As a discipline rather than a being, sympathy has no body, but it carries a consistent sensory signature. It is performed through small physical mediums and gestures: dipping a finger in spilled liquor or brandy, muttering a binding under the breath, a furrowed brow of concentration, and an intent stare at the target. Its effects manifest as transferred energy: bottles shattering, fires drawing heat, a gram turning cold as energy is absorbed. Its lore-objects are tactile too, from wax mommets and lit spirit lamps to the etched runes of related artificing.

Description§

Sympathy is the most prevalent and academically accepted form of magic in Temerant and the backbone of arcane study at the University. It operates as a system of equivalent exchange: a sympathetic link binds two things so that energy can be moved from one to the other, always at a toll or loss to cover the cost of the transfer, a mechanic repeatedly likened to currency and exchange rates. Its engine is Alar, the disciplined power to make the mind impose belief on reality; Kvothe's Alar is famously described as a bar of Ramston steel, very hard but brittle, and skilled sympathists can divide their minds behind mental doors to hold several bindings at once. Energy transfer is imperfectly efficient, with the lost portion shed as heat into the sympathist's own body, so drawing heat to fuel a link can cool the body and cause the dangerous, potentially fatal Binder's chills. A sympathist can sustain only a finite number of simultaneous bindings, and once at that limit any further binding simply fails. Bodily fluids such as blood carry a sympathetic link to their owner and can be used to track a person, a danger to those unaware of it. A gram absorbs and redirects energy aimed at its wearer, like a lightning rod, growing cold as it draws off the binding's force. Sympathy is consistently distinguished from Naming, from Fae grammarie, and from the Chandrian's own magic.

Relationships§

  • Practitioner Kvothe — Kvothe learned sympathy young and is unusually strong with it
  • Distinct From The Chandrian — distinct from the Chandrian's own magic
  • Taught At The University — most prevalent magic in Temerant, taught at the University
  • Distinct From Naming — consistently distinguished from Naming
  • Depends On Alar — depends on Alar, the trained ability to affect reality by belief and will
  • Distinct From Grammarie — distinguished from Fae grammarie
  • Contrasted With Sygaldry — sympathy is willed present-tense, whereas sygaldry fixes its effect into the object
  • Likened To Ramston Steel — Kvothe's Alar described as a bar of Ramston steel, very hard but brittle
  • Countered By Gram — a gram absorbs and redirects energy from bindings like a lightning rod
  • Aided By Heart of Stone — Heart of Stone dulls emotions to hold Alar steady

Established facts§

  • Sympathy is the most prevalent and academically accepted form of magic in Temerant, taught at the University.
  • It works by trading energy from one place to another via a sympathetic link or binding, with a toll or loss to cover the cost, explicitly likened to currency exchange rates.
  • It depends on Alar, the trained ability to affect reality by belief and will; Kvothe's Alar is described as a bar of Ramston steel, very hard but brittle.
  • Skilled sympathists can hold multiple bindings at once by dividing the mind behind mental doors.
  • A sympathist can sustain only a finite number of simultaneous bindings; once at that limit, any further binding fails.
  • Energy transfer across a sympathetic link is imperfectly efficient, with the lost energy shed as heat into the sympathist's own body.
  • Drawing heat from one's own body to fuel a link cools the body and can cause Binder's chills, a dangerous and potentially fatal loss of warmth.
  • Sympathy works on the principle that a part can stand for the whole, so a fragment of a thing can act upon the whole of it.
  • Bodily fluids such as blood carry a sympathetic link to their owner and can be used with a dowsing compass to track a person; Kvothe disperses his own blood to confuse pursuers.
  • A gram absorbs and redirects energy from bindings placed on the wearer, like a lightning rod, and grows cold as it draws off the force.
  • Heart of Stone is a mental discipline that dulls a sympathist's emotions to let him hold his Alar steady.
  • A mommet is made from wax to shape the body, blood or hair for the link, a personal object of the target, and a binding word or Name; clay and blood make a better simulacrum than wax and hair.
  • Sympathy is a willed, present-tense magic maintained by the sympathist's attention, whereas sygaldry fixes its effect into the object so it persists without ongoing will.
  • A galvanic sympathetic binding can shorten the conductive path between storm clouds and the ground, raising the chance of a lightning strike at a chosen point.
  • A sympathetic bond persists until the caster drops their Alar, with no inherent time limit, so it can be maintained indefinitely with constant effort.
  • Sympathy requires both an energy source and a sympathetic link; Kvothe distinguishes true iron from carbon-rich near-steel when judging what will work.
  • Sympathy lamps made at the University are superior to candles and oil lamps but demand far greater effort and skilled artificers, limiting their spread.
  • Kvothe learned sympathy young, around age eleven, drawing on the memory for verse and song instilled by his parents, and is unusually strong with it.
  • Sympathy is distinct from Naming, from Fae grammarie, and from the Chandrian's own magic; the Chandrian are not shown using sympathy.

Theories§

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