Sunday 18 October 2015

Whisperers


Whisperers have been described as the juvenile form of speakers. Indeed, whisperers that become powerful enough eventually turn into speakers, losing their abilities in exchange for the capacity of channeling the Fifth Power into spells. Whisperers are born, but one cannot learn to be a whisperer, while becoming a speaker is possible to anyone. Whisperers' abilities are always limited in number and strength. Some whisperers go to great lengths to keep their skills just low enough to not become speakers, to avoid the inevitable fanaticism both traditions are stricken with.
"I change the Fifth Power. My family forbade me to learn a profession, to marry, to have friends with strange ideas. I will live for nine centuries, and I'll never be anything but the power source for the speakers of my clan."
— Namtiin Giwanjur, whisperer
Whisperers' abilities are any of: resistance or complete immunity to mental control; empathy; telekinesis; shapeshifting their appearance; incredible physical resistance; manipulating the Fifth Power's strength; teleportation; silvercords; reading objects' past; supernatural combat skills; nearly irresistible skills of persuasion; artifact creation.

All whispering skills are limited to the user, they cannot use them outside of themselves. Therefore, while their teleportation is by far the most reliable, they cannot transport people with them, and cannot lift anything with their mental touch, but only protect or enhance themselves. Whisperers are subject to the mystical number five - mastership of five skills makes them speakers. They are treated wildly different throughout the cultures; some employ their unique talents like regular jobs, others see a duty for them, still others fear them, or value their talents but disregard the whisperers' individuality.
"Damned spells! I could jump from here to a room in Agorisai without fail when I whispered, now I can barely see the city upon my arrival!"
— Jukolar, wizard
Artists' notes
I wonder how it must be to have the choice to either never further your abilities or become a fanatic. Glad I don't have to make it. Whisperers' most important ability is to make artifacts - one could say that most have been made by them, although there are no more whisperers than speakers, who also can make them.

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