The Crux of Waking: A Mortal's Guide to Ascendency

Majia has always existed. As the force of chaos, it is the very essence of existence. This is a brief overview of the history of Majia.

As stated by Sage Alyiki, “There was a uniform Eternity within the Sempiternal Mists, but Majia decided this was boring, and forced its way into existence.” With Majia forcing back the Mists, Time was able to enter and with it, Majia’s primordial effects were slowed.

Events that followed are uncertain, as they are described differently across a number of ancient texts and oral traditions. By the time people developed memory, the land had settled and all that remained of the Creation Era was the World Spike and the Ma’hari.

Majia was initially used in ritual form, harnessing the incredible power of the Ma’hari (or Ritual Sites) to assist the various tribes of people in their endeavours. As culture evolved, use of Majia slowed and eventually ceased, with the exception of the occasional user within the tribal cultures.

During the Age of the Daies, Majia was rediscovered as people began tapping into it individually. Religious beliefs sprung from these abilities, which were opposed by part of the population. Two distinct schools of thought were developed, and the resulting mess led to the destruction of Viserys and the sundering of the cultures that had arisen.

The history of Majia users is littered with examples of power abuse, systemic oppression, and violent warmongering. As a direct result of continuous oppression at the hands of majs – people capable of tapping into the power of Majia - non-majs rose up in a rebellion led by Zuriel Akarius. This uprising saw almost all majs hunted down and executed, and many ancient sites connected to the majs destroyed before attention was turned to the Ma’hari.

The Ma’hari at Naeshys was successfully destroyed, however this resulted in the disappearance of the sun, and the return of the Sempiternal Mists. Brilliant auroras coloured the sky across all the world, apparently slowing the Mists, however these auroras were unable to completely turn the Mists back, and the outer regions of the world were removed from Time as the Mists crept forward.

According to the Sages, the world entered a second Creation Cycle during this time. Written records exist only in personal journals, all of which eventually faded after close to a century in this new era. The account given by Sage Kalen is as follows:

“It looked like a fast-moving fog, so none of us were too worried when it reached the shoreline. It covered the town quickly, and I got caught in it. That was how I came to know things – in the Mists, you are both everywhere and nowhere, experiencing all time and yet no time at all. I could see all of history laid out, and all possible futures, as well as that exact moment as it felt for every being that existed. That knowledge of the past and present never left when the Mists left.”

While it can never be certain how long this period lasted, or exactly how it was ended, the Sages, Seers, and Mystics that arose from it all agreed it was a period of around two thousand years. This period became known as The Lost Age, and gave birth to the Immortal Beings of the world.

The Fifth Age saw another interference from the Sempiternal Mists, which resulted in a schism being created through which Wraiths were able to enter existence. While it is uncertain exactly what Wraiths do, the Sages and Mystics have warned that it was caused by people trying to bridge the gap between the Majian school of thought, and the Energy school of thought. For this reason, individuals are not permitted to study both.