On the Merits of Unnaturalness (2 page)

THE
 

B
y far the most common Type of Unnatural, the Soothsayers are entirely reliant upon certain Objects to commune with the Dead. These Objects are now called
NUMA
, but were originally known as
Numina
in the first Days of our Syndicate's Existence.
5
I have detected no clear Reason as to why and how certain Objects become Numa. Soothsayers of one Type will always be able to handle and use Numa; for example, a skilled Cartomancer may use all sorts of Cards to touch the Æther. Over Time, however, a Soothsayer may become particularly attached to one Numen, one that provides them with the strongest Connection to the spirit World. This I will call the Soothsayer's
chosen
or
primary Numen
.

5
A linguistic Point of Interest: according to Grub Street's early Records, these words originate from the Latin,
Numen
, alluding to some hidden spiritual Power within the Object. This forms the etymological Root of the Adjective
numinous
.
Numen
forms the Singular of
Numa
.

Numa may be passed down through Generations of Clairvoyants in the Guise of family Heirlooms. If a chosen Numen is destroyed, the Soothsayer attached to it will suffer a
SPIRIT SHOCK
, upon which I intend to write extensively in the near Future. This Dependence upon an inanimate Object is a grave Weakness in this Order of Clairvoyance, as Separation may cause permanent Disconnection from the Æther, and an undesirable Descent
into Amaurosis. It is therefore of the utmost Importance that each Soothsayer guards his or her chosen Numen with their Life.
6

6
I have observed with great Interest that if a Voyant of a different Type attempts to handle an old Numen that has long been bereft of an Owner, it will result in a devastating Shock to the Dreamscape that may seriously affect the unfortunate Individual's Sanity. Therefore, do not attempt to steal a Numen, particularly an abandoned Numen, under any Circumstances.

 

The Soothsayers are the largest Order of all, and are most likely to have Auras of an attractive purple Hue, ranging from Lavender to a vivid Amethyst. Due to their rampant Overpopulation, I have taken the Liberty of dividing the Soothsayers into two simple Categories, the
SEERS
and the
COMMON SOOTHSAYERS
. Their Reliance upon Numa is a clear Disadvantage, and displays a low Level of Clairvoyance. Nonetheless, their History is intriguing, and worth including in this encyclopaedic Document.

 

 

SEERS

These Soothsayers are reliant upon the use of
Reflective
Objects, including Liquids, to connect with the Æther. In the reflective Surface they are privy to Flashes of ethereal Insight. This Practice is known as Scrying.

 

CATOPTROMANCER,
also
CAPTROMANCER
or, archaically,
MIRROR-READER.
The Catoptromancer, the Master of Mirrors, is the most revered of the Seers, and perhaps of the Soothsayers overall. There is a long and distinguished History of Catoptromancy as a Practice. Instances are recorded as far back as in the Ancient Greek Era; also in ‘
GARGANTUA AND PANTAGRUEL'
by
François Rabelais
, and in the Desire of certain young Women in the Twentieth Century to seek their future Husband in a Mirror. The Mirror, the Numen, is used to capture Light from the Moon, or is looked upon for many Hours at a Time, until a Revelation is experienced. The Superstition of the broken Mirror is likely to come from the story of a Catoptromancer after breaking his or her own Numen, which would bring about a long Period of Anguish. A Catoptromancer likes nothing better than to sit in a Psychomanteum, or House of Mirrors, and stare into the Glass. It brings about a Sense that he or she is actually within
the Æther.

 

COTTABOMANCER.
A strange Gift, one that is becoming increasingly difficult to practise, thanks to the unhappy Restriction of Alcohol imposed by Inquisitor
Zettler
last Year. The Cottabomancer pours Wine into a brass Bowl and uses the dark Surface as a Scrying Pool. The Name appears to originate from the Greek drinking Game
Kottabos
, during which Lees of Wine would be thrown. The Darkness and Sweetness of the Wine calls forth Visions from the Æther, and allows for Connection with those Spirits that inhabit the darkest Realms. Drinking the Wine after Scrying causes a deep Trance, during which the Cottabomancer will be caught in their Dreamscape for a long Period of Time.

 

HYDROMANCER.
7
Those Soothsayers that use Water are said to practise Hydromancy. This is another ancient and extremely well-documented Gift, for Water has always been of great Importance as an Element and a Source of Life. It is listed as one of the seven forbidden Arts in
Johannes Hartlieb
's
‘
DAS PUCH ALLER VERPOTEN KUNST, UNGELAUBENS UND DER ZAUBREY'
, published at some point in the mid-Fifteenth Century.
8
The Hydromancer may study the Patterns of Ripples or the Clarity of Water to enter a Trance, scatter Water to summon Spirits, or throw an Object into Water and watch what becomes of it (this may be called
LECANOMANCY
, especially if a Basin is used). Drinking Water may also have more of an Effect on a Hydromancer than it would on other Clairvoyants, who merely find themselves refreshed. More often than not, a Body of Water is simply used as a Scrying Pool, through which lucid images of the Æther may be projected. Hydromancers are the most powerful of those Unnaturals that use any form of Liquid, and can often scry with Wine, Ice and Blood as well as Water.

7
I concede that the
Hydromancer
and
Cryomancer
may be associated with
AUGURY
, as Water is one of the best-known Elements and always associated with the natural World. The same applies to the
Margaritomancer
, as Pearls come from the living Mollusk. However, I also note that all Objects, and therefore all Numa, were originally forged from natural Materials; thus, categorisation depends on certain Qualities that each Material possesses. Reflective Matter belongs in the Category of Seeing; Objects shaped or adulterated by Humankind are used in Common Soothsaying, while unprocessed organic Matter is best suited to Augury. However, there may be some exceptions to each Rule, which my Research will always support. Rest assured that all Choices have been made with Care.

8
Regrettably, most Copies of this Document were lost in the many Book-Burnings organised by our barbaric Government over the Decades, and this poor Writer was only able to barter two small, untranslated Fragments of the little-known Text from a literary Smuggler. Still more regrettably, given that several Flasks of Absinthe and the best of my Shirts were lost in this Exchange, it is clear that
Hartlieb
, noting only seven forbidden Arts, was no great Genius.

 

CRYOMANCER.
A form of Hydromancy, the Cryomancer's penchant is for Ice. The Cryomancer waits for the deep Winter for his or her Gift to emerge. The frozen Water becomes a natural Mirror through which the Cryomancer may scry. The Cryomancers I have studied claim to scry Visions of a cold ‘Shadow World', which may only be seen in certain frozen Areas. This is a Theme I will explore in a later Pamphlet, as it almost certainly warrants further Investigation.

 

CRYSTALIST,
also
CRYSTALLOMANCER
. It is in these famous Seers that the Amaurotics find their stereotypical Image of a Clairvoyant, the pensive Woman with her Hands clasped around a Crystal Ball. Crystalists use any reflective spherical Object to scry, most commonly crystal or glass Balls and the less expensive Shew-Stones. The Gift appears to work best with a flawless quartz Sphere. The famous Elizabethans
Edward
Kelley
and
DOCTOR
John Dee
used such Items in their fruitless Pursuit of Angels. A less common Type of Crystalist is the
MARGARITOMANCER
, the gazer of iridescent Pearls, in which tiny Flashes of the Æther may be seen.

 

 

COMMON SOOTHSAYERS

These Soothsayers do not use reflective Objects. Their images of the Æther come instead by means of Direction and Chance, or through sudden Hallucinations caused by touching their particular Numen. The vast majority of these Gifts are weak, erratic and often disturbing in their Inaccuracy.

 

AXINOMANCER,
once called
AXE-DIVINER
. An extremely ancient Art with few modern Practitioners. The Numen of these Soothsayers is an Axe or Hatchet.
Ephraim Chambers
noted in ‘
CYCLOPÆDIA: OR, AN UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES'
, that at some point in History, Axinomancy was carried out by placing an agate Stone upon a red-hot Hatchet and, presumably, watching to see what became of it.
9
This Ability is virtually useless in detecting the Future, but may provide Hints as to the Presence of Poltergeists or Archangels, which
cause the Blade to tremble as they pass. It can be assumed that, being intimately familiar with Axes in general, the Axinomancer possesses great Skill with an Axe in Combat. An Axinomancer famously murdered the great Underqueen, the
Golden Baroness
, in 1980.

9
Another sad Truth: this was one of the first Documents to be destroyed in the Great Biblioclasm of 1902, taking place in Paternoster Row at the Heart of the amaurotic Publishing Trade – a Night on which the Majority of written Knowledge of Clairvoyance in London was lost to us at the Hand of the cruel
Marquess of Salisbury
. Alas for Literature! Alas! Once again, only four scorched Pages of the Document remain, and are currently preserved in the darkest Vault of the Spiritus Club's Library.

 

BIBLIOMANCER,
also
STICHOMANCER
. Used by many Clairvoyants since before the Middle Ages. A Book is opened at a random Page, or allowed to fall open from the Spine. The first Word of that Page, or a Passage picked without looking, indicates the immediate Future of the Querent. Often a sacred or respected Text such as the legendary Chinese
I CHING
, which purportedly contains a clear System for Divination, may be used instead of amaurotic Texts, though this has been made difficult by the systemic Burning of many such Books. A Bibliomancer claims to do this with more Accuracy than when another Clairvoyant tries the same Trick, as he or she is guided by Spirits. An entertaining Ability for Busking, but largely unhelpful in the pursuit of more constructive Activities.

 

CARTOMANCER.
10
Also called
BROADSIDER
in the Cant of the Streets. A particularly interesting and lucrative type of Soothsaying. A Cartomancer may use a Number of Systems for reading the Life of a Querent, the most common being the ‘Ellipse Spread'.
This Spread involves seven Cards being placed before the Querent and read by the Cartomancer, who will receive an intense ethereal Vision when he or she touches each Card. Often the Querent and the Cartomancer will have to make physical Contact with one another before the Reading can take place.

10
I note that the
Cartomancer
has some Features of the far superior
JUMPER
(
see that Order
), as their Readings, which always involve Visions, closely resemble the oracular Gift of Precognition. However, their undeniable Reliance upon a Deck of Cards places them firmly within the Category of the
SOOTHSAYER
.

 

CLEROMANCER.
A highly diverse Gift, with many Manifestations. These Clairvoyants must cast Lots or
Sortes
, which are then arranged by Spirits to indicate a Direction or Course that ought to be taken by the Querent. As with the
CARTOMANCER
, this ethereal Arrangement may be accompanied by Visions. This Type of Clairvoyance can be further divided into at least six Groups:
ACULTOMANCY
, by Needles;
AICHMOMANCY
, by any other sharpened Object;
ASTRAGALOMANCY
, by Dice;
CLEIDOMANCY
, by Keys;
OSTEOMANCY
, by Bones (see
VILE AUGURS
); and
RHABDOMANCY
, by Twigs or Sticks fashioned from Wood. The most intriguing of these types is the Rhabdomancer, who claims that his Lots point him towards his Destiny, his Home, or his Fortune (see
COMMON AUGURS
).