Praxis: Rank 0

Rank 0 Praxis

(Difficulty 15)

The Naming of Things (and Forms)

Effects at this rank of Praxis transform a conceptualization — a description you have of something you are seeing or experiencing — into the is. That is, you take something that you can see, which may or may not be a wholly accurate or reasonable portrayal, and transform it into something trans-subjective or even objective: something which everyone can see, something which is real. You illumine something in the world and make its suchness stand out: that's the fairy glamour of rank 0 Praxis.

The thing you are cultivating must not be patently false; or rather, if it is thus false, then it is treated as falsified by another's action. Thus, you say: "I see a monster in my closet!" The world responds, saying, no, that is just socks; your action fails. Similarly, if you attempt to name someone a murderer because they are your suspect, or if you insist that someone who loathes you is charmed by you because you think you're charming; . . .

But here already, we tread close to the line.

It is the GM's duty to treat falsification of this sort as a weighty matter; to speak up for the world's truth only when the world vehemently objects. It stands to reason, if one looks at the world around you, that there is an objective truth but that it is diffuse, quiet, shy: it steps in when it must to say, "No, you cannot actually fly; yes, you are actually sleepy; no, Florida is not a portion of Canada." But much of the time, it leaves subjective matters to quibble amongst one another: is one person stronger than another? Well, what is strength?

With just that discretion that objective reality exerts, in stepping in only once strength has been defined down to "this much force, this much muscle fiber, this many falls out of five, or seven," the GM must be careful to allow even most skew notions to prosper, using the Naming of Things.

The purpose of the Naming of Things is thus four fold.

The first is, to make the suchness of a thing stronger; to highlight it, to make it burn with its truth. And in the contrary side of this same coin, and second, it is to test that suchness. For if you are to put your weight on a stair step over an endless void, it is best to lean one foot upon it first; and to Name a Thing is also to verify that reality will not intervene. The third purpose is to secure the reality of an ambiguous proposition, that you may lean upon it later. The last is, assuming success upon your roll, to inject a thing straightaway into the would have been.

"I see a monster in my closet;" and then, when the world objects, you have failed; but still, there would have been a monster, there is something there that you have seen. And this is something that may be drawn upon at a later time in magic.

It is incumbent on the player, of course, to be honest; it always is. But this honesty may be slanted somewhat for fun. It is all right to develop interesting things for your character to see in the situation around them, and both the player and the character may skew the situation slightly to make best use of the Naming of Things and Forms.

To use this level of Praxis, then, make a declaration defining what you see. This should be relatively modest: 50 words at the most, with 15 more typical. This, like all Praxis, is a 3-round action, so you'll need to spend the next 3 rounds engaging with your declaration — defining it further, interacting with it, in any case doing something to honor its presence in the world (literally, or with acknowledgement, or even by struggling against it.) At the end of this three-round action, make your Praxis roll. If you succeed on the roll, and neither reality nor another character has intervened, you have manifested what you see as real within the is. If you succeed, but reality and/or another character intervenes, it manifests instead within the tenuous would have been: there, but for reality! There, in a sense. There, lurking, waiting to exist. Failing the roll and denying reality, or failing the roll and being opposed, means that your desire falls straightaway into the might have been.

Thus if you believe that you can cook a decent meal, and you fail the roll, and someone meddles in the kitchen to boot — then no. No, what you are experiencing in that belief is an illusion brought on by error and compounded by self-deceit; your conception dissolves and cannot take root within the is. Conversely, if you see that someone is enjoying themselves at dance class, and you succeed at the roll, and nothing operates to prevent you: lo! That enjoyment is part of the is, it shines out like a star.

Here's an example:

• Declaration: "He's acting suspicious. There's something he's not telling us!"
• Praxis: he's acting suspicious! There's something he's not telling you!

Fairies usually call this effect sharpening, limning, illuminating, or numinizing. It's surprisingly handy as a social tool: if you're right, for instance, that somebody's acting suspicious, then as soon as you've limned it, it becomes something everybody and particularly your fairy peers can see. It's also extremely helpful when you're in a study group — the ability to limn a principle of mathematics or an intention of a poet is extremely useful for teaching and inspiring others, as long as you aren't both wrong and so subtly wrong that reality won't step in. Of course, if you are, then you can screw up everything and everyone from first principles, so there you are.

Waylings and nicknobs can waive their roll for rank 0 Praxis, succeeding unless opposed and failing utterly if reality or someone else intervenes. Waylings may accomplish this through a persuasive power of limning; nicknobs have the inner peace to only manifest those forms that ought to be. The elemental spirits with the character of Naming include various ephemeral spirits of beauty and the small gods or small angels that live inside or outside each thing and keep it the way it ought to be. The former are unstable creatures resembling firework fairies, save only that their lifespan is smaller and their origins less human; the latter are a matter of metaphysical dispute, as some fairies believe that there is no thing but with its guardian host of angels and others suspect that it takes either keen observation or a confluence of peculiar effects to imbue an item or experience with a guardian entity or god.