Aligned

From LSWiki

->) The Aligned (<-

You are one of the Aligned, one who has undergone a process of alignment with nature itself.

Alignment is a development upon the process of attunement, so as an Aligned you are perforce Attuned. Attunement is the esoteric process of ordering the structure of one's essence with the structure of nature, via certain significant patterns in the Hanoman ecosystem. For more information on attunement in general, type 'help attuned'.

Alignment is the esoteric process of using one's attunement as a foundation for more complex ordered magicks. Most Aligned do not think of themselves as magicians in the traditional sense, having little use for the strange incantations and gestures of most cabals. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that alignment is a highly magickal trade, and the Aligned are initiates and wielders of magick through and through.

The Aligned are not strictly speaking a cabal, nor a priesthood, but something that is at once a mixture of these and something new altogether. The Aligned are mystically bound to the island of Hanoma. They learn their magicks -- and, occasionally, invent new magicks -- by this bond. They accomplish this sometimes directly, through will, and sometimes through intermediary arts tied to the culture of the Hanomans on the island. (Since all things on Hanoma, the culture of the residents included, seems to be mystically connected to the island somehow, this can be seen as another route of direct access.)

The island is not a sentient being per se, but it does resonate with sentient beings, and it carries with it a certain ethos. That ethos is not enforced by one's alignment to the island, but one's alignment is partly composed by that ethos, so abiding it is important for the operation of one's magicks. To this extent, the Aligned are more like priests than like magi. Moreover there are specific tasks that, due to their ethical undertones, serve as the basis for magicks; these are known as "normative forms".

However, the bond is more natural than divine to the extent that one does not need to curry favor with a divinity in order to use one's magicks. One needs to keep one's bond with Hanoma strong due to the nature of the process of alignment, but, given that it is, one effects one's magicks by hermetic, "natural" processes, not divine favor.

The Aligned are different from both priests and most magi in that they neither invoke nor evoke for their spells, but learn, by alignment, to directly manifest their wills in the world by willpower and concentration alone. Your magickal abilities from alignment, as a class, are referred to as "forms", of which there are several subtypes. Type 'help forms' for more information.

The ethos is one of discipline, inner balance, tranquility, and above all harmony with nature. This is how Hanomans understand and make sense of the order of the universe; the Aligned are the most consistent exemplars of this philosophy. This done not mean eschewing chaos per se -- chaos has its place in the universe as well -- but it does mean living a disciplined and balanced life. This lifestyle brought is brought into esoteric fruition by the process of attunement, the process that serves as the basis for alignment.

The Aligned have a certain metaphysical rapport with one another which includes the ability to communicate regardless of distance and language via the 'aligned' communication channel.