Opsianoutics.
from Greek "opsianou" (obsidian) + somanoutics, the academic term for sage-craft in Sharlayan.
A heretical art of opsianoutics was first developed by Avalo Vara after the Seventh Umbral Calamity - the prodigal child of Sharlayan academia found that the traditional forms of healing available to them were not enough to address the needs of those most affected by the horrors wrought in the aftermath of the tragedy. So they chose to do more, because their soul was not made for half-measures.The wounds of the Calamity sliced deep, and more so than that, they were cursed. Rancor from the fallen Dalamud ran vile through the blood of the people. Living beings all spat bile full of worms and wept blood full of embers. This is the nature of curses.Cat's hair and thorned nettles and crow's feathers - these must be removed from the heart and lungs and viscera before any healing of the flesh can begin, lest the venom of them swallow you whole.
on the art.
obsidian - the blade, the ward.
Obsidian is the protector of hearts and healer of souls, but more so than that, obsidian can be formed into a blade that is sharper than any surgical steel. And so, this volcanic glass is used as a foci by practitioners of opsianoutics as the primary material contained within their nouliths.
on balancing the elements.
The primary method of healing the cursed after cutting out the rot of a malediction is to reattune the elemental balance within a living creature's self. If a hex wound simulates drowning in the victim, then it must obviously be treated by reintroducing lightning aether, which is its natural opposite and thus forces the body to return to equilibrium.
on those who deal with the dark.
when you heal the wound.
Lightning aether. Retune the aetheric balance of the body with ice. Use earth and water as anchor points to keep the gradual shift from becoming a tilt. Triangulate the astral elements to address the umbral.Their nouliths whir and glow as they re-aspect themselves to Avalo’s nudge of thought, their laser point accuracy pinpointing to the sites of injury. Focus on bend of limb and stretch of muscle, stop the sparks of lightning still trying to dance across the bloodflow. Coax the edema out to dissipate the excess into pure aether, rechannel that coolness to alleviate the hypercharged burning, sweep over for any eschar. There isn’t any, to Avalo’s surprise, which makes them slow to reevaluate if they missed any. Around the joints? The arm where the starshaped wound is blurring itself into healed skin? But even the fingertips are clear too, where the exit wound already closing without any sighs or complaint as Sonja twitches them into a fist.
when you find the curse.
“It’s bacteria,” they state blankly. “The aether dust is alive inside Clara’s pericardium and it looks like the bacteria for yersinia. It’s an actual — it’s a plague. One spread by fleas. There are a handful of classifications to it but this one — I suppose nomenclature could easily be Yersinia inferni as it’s voidsent based but — it is carried by fleas and voidsent —” they stop themselves again, no longer cutting themselves off in excitement but caution.They’re not sure how much Remeraux would accept where and how they came to have their knowledge of the Void. When they’d been recruited to this work it had been a fateful accident really, for no one truly ever could know why Avalo was easily able to smell that the plague in the city was not a natural one but — it’s pointless to not trust Remeraux at this stage and at the least they do know she won’t turn them over the the Church for it —“Voidsent may exist in various forms, but they tend to mimic the appearance of their modus operandi. So a voidsent that steals faces will have many masks and a voidsent that drowns you will often look like a creature of the deep, therefore, we can imagine that the voidsent we must find to cure and eradicate yersinina inferni must have the biological and behavioral and perhaps even the nesting properties of a flea.”
notes from the author
What's the Inspiration for This?:
A lot of urban and traditional fantasy read as a child, a teenagehood obsessed with witchcraft, and adulthood obsessed with medicine.I'm not able to quite name all my inspirations for this because it's been a life full of them but I would name Tamora PIerce, Holly Black, Garth Nix, and Diana Wynne Jones' books as major influences.
Why a Heretical Art?
It's a bit goth, you know. It's a bit black magic in itself so I want to say that it's viewed with the same suspicion as any art that deals with the dark. Making Avalo the originator of it is solely because I like Avalo, genuinely. You may even ignore this if you like, but I like my elezen.
This is Similar to [insert whatever, idk. your own lore]:
That's fine! I don't claim these ideas as original whatsoever. That's why it is free to use. The only reason I made this post is to share my OC's specific area of healing, that's all. I'm in no way claiming this as wholly a product of my mind, we all read the same books and practiced our own witchcraft.I AM protective of the fact my friend helped me name this, so be respectful of that part, I beg of you.
May I Use This?:
Yes! Feel free to. There’s little I can do to say what you are allowed to do with content I have provided for free online. I very kindly ask for respect with regards to my creative work.Please take take care and I hope it brings you something fun to do with your own creative adventures!