Vitubian Schizology
Concepts
Beliefs
While there are many reasons for one to become a Schizo, one underlying aspect that is common to many is the desire to "dethrone" all chuubas by spreading their beliefs to all in Vitubia, ending the chuuba's influence in the astral realm, thus rendering the world devoid of any worship of chuubas. For this reason, Schizoism is more anti-Chuubaism than pure atheism, even though it can be a reason to become a Schizo. If not born a Schizo in the Northern Wastes, any who doubted their deity's way or are morbidly curious of forbidden knowledge can lead one to join underground cults. The Schizos target is usually affected by the flow of events in the heavenly realm (e.g. if a chuuba grows weak, Schizos would exploit this fact), there exist Schizos with specific targets called "antis".
Rrats
Rrats are a form of psychic energy that manifests as a field, while it is true that most Schizos are connected by it, it is not merely a psychic link between them. One of the prevailing theories of Rrats claims that the malicious energy that drives the most notable form of Rrats are excesses from the other realms, controlled by the Outer Gods. This malicious energy allows the psychic field to almost gain a will of its own. The main goal for this psychic field is to propagate and prolong itself. This drives Schizos to spread the underlying conceptions associated with a Rrat. As the ideas spread, the field safeguards itself from dissipating. However, this theory does not explain the human, or perhaps schizo factor in the manifestation of Schizos.
The truth is, Rrats are still needed to be created and propagated by humans, who may or may not be Schizos. While the malicious energy does tend to latch on many Rrats, they are in almost all cases, malicious ones. The malicious energy only compels the Rrat to spread and prolong itself, but not necessarily make the Rrat "evil". What is evil, are the ones who spread them intentionally. Rrats as a psychic field only gain character from the concept or idea they are linked to. The Rrats in effect hijack the concept, obscuring the perception of the world, especially of the heavenly realm, like a lens. Rrats nominally exist in the liminal space between the physical and heavenly realm, also known as the Catalog. Though they can seep into our physical world when the conditions are right. Anti-chuubanite artefacts and Schizos are the "anchoring points" for rrats, where localized and weak fields exist around them. Whenever a forbidden tome written with anti-chuubanite is opened, or a schizo warband gathers, the tear (though it in effect is more so a bridge) widens, and Rrat fields would cross from the immaterial to invade the material. Notably, Rrats also casts "shadows" around any links between the heavenly and physical realms. This is how concepts can become distorted. And the only ways to counter it are either: an even stronger link (or "broadcast" between the heavenly and material realm); competing Rrat waves weakening the effect of the malicious Rrat by consuming the bandwidth in the field, or waiting for the Rrat to naturally weaken. Catalognauts are weakened when they are surrounded by Schizos, and Vitubium magic can similarly be disrupted. Though one saving grace is that the "shadow" needs to completely envelop the catalognaut or Chuubanite used to cast magic. Otherwise the disruption is usually minor.
Any idea can become a Rrat, though what separates them from observable facts are that they are all figment of the human mind. A politician's secret affair, the King's illegitimate family... The stories written on papers, tales told through the villager elder's songs and legends carved onto stones. Ideas not related to Chuubas, the Gods, are still Rrats, the biggest difference being they are not strengthened by the excess malicious energy reflected onto Vitubia. The fate of Pekora's primate companion is just as much of a Rrat as what is regarded as forbidden knowledge of the Gods. The effects of "white", or more accurately speaking neutral Rrats, can counter the effects of malicious ones, though often not directly, only competing for the bandwidth of the human mind.
A multitude of Malicious Rrats exists based on the target of the Schizos and the weakness they are exploiting (Such as Doxx Rrats). Rrats grants Schizos abilities and magik not accessible to an average person but also differentiates antis based on the Rrat they are affiliated with. This link also gains potency when more Schizos join in, strengthening the effect of madness cast by the field and trolls, it snowballs by absorbing more schizos and the weak-willed, the Losts. If the tide is not stemmed, Rrats and the resulting raids can ruin entire countries and even continents. Both written words and spoken words can carry the power of Rrats. Thus Schizos can easily sway the opinion of gullible or already doubtful individuals. One's transformation into a Schizo requires both the close approximation to artefacts or trolls and malicious intent. So, listening to one or two rumors from a Schizo will not turn one mad, but reading a book written with ink infused with Anti-chuubanite has a chance, provided they also embodied some of the malice.
Artefacts and Anti-Chuubanite
Source of sorcerous powers for shamans and any Schizos who still process the mental faculty to use them. They are made using a refined chuubanite called "Anti-Chuubanite". As far as scholars know, they behave just like any chuubanite, particularly non-affiliated ones. But they can produce effects that no other chuubanite can, such as interfering the mind of individuals using the power of Rrats. Though their effect can also be relatively mundane, a fireball-spitting sword made from Kiara Chuubanite or a piece of runestone which can transform an opponent's limbs into hardened vines made with Fauna chuubanite. The magic or abilities granted by artefacts range from offensive, defensive and passive ones. Depending on how it is manufactured, artefacts usually only have one or two spells or abilities. But over the ages, ones that have more than half a dozen have also been reported.
Anti-Chuubanite are created using normal chuubanite. They can be "mundane", rendered by some rituals, thus not having affliation with any chuubas. But most rituals performed to produce the final product do not remove its affiliation. Anti-Chuubanite is usually more power-hungry, thus requiring more Vitubium particles than usual for their density. The passive radiative effect of all Anti-Chuubanite are a localized Rrat field. And as the Rrat field around them strengthens and expands, the field "captures" more Vitubium particles and prevents them from flowing out. This allows the Anti-Chuubanite to be more powerful, but it is also how the "shadow" around normal Chuubanite or Catalognauts are formed. Though a strong enough Vitubium field, either from chuubanite or Catalognauts can often counter this effect by breaking through (albeit not completely). Or being potent enough that the "hand", the shadow isn't enough to extinguish the "flame" that is the Vitubium field by simply wrapping around it. With that in mind, the effects of a catalognaut embracing schizo ideas can potentially be catastrophic, as they would now constitute both as a strong anchoring point and a direct linkage between the heavenly and the liminal realm, feeding power directly to the Rrat field.
Schizo entities
The Losts
Those who are overwhelmed by the psychic field, thus losing control of their bodies and minds are called the Losts. They range from those who are under permanent control of schzios like marionettes or those that are more suspect to short-term mind controls and manipulation by them. Wherever a great congregation of Schizos moves to, the Rrat Field also does, polluting and controlling the minds of those who cannot resist. These poor souls are usually the backbone of any schizo army, forced to be pressed into the service of their maddened masters.
But compared to Schizos, who are mostly deemed as untreatable, the Lost can shake off the effect of the Rrat Field, sometimes on their own. Even if one isn't strong enough in their faith to withstand the initial effect of the field, when it has been weakened, one may be able to escape its grasp. Though they may choose to become a Schizo by embracing the madness. Anyone who became a Lost at one point can suffer some impairment to their cognition, but it has been noted that those who were able to unshackle themselves suffer less or are seemingly unafflicted with any long-term effects.
Trolls
- Taller & bigger than normal humans(>2.5m tall, rare specimens as tall as 7-8 meters).
- Covered in fur and thick hides, long arms and short legs, normally walk upright but can sprint on all fours.
- Often needs cannon fire/ massed, sustained fire to take out(if melee warriors, 30 plus men are minimal).
Brutish creatures with supernatural strength & resistance. Casts an aura of madness around, revealing forbidden information about the Gods. Trolls can also concentrate this power by gazing directly into a person's eyes making them reeling from pain with a glance or worse, madden by it in minutes. Usually not related to any Rrats, trolls follow any Rrats that are strong enough or wander the wastes for food. Although the classic image of a Troll is that of a towering, furred and hominid creature, they can have different morphologies depending on factors such as the local chuubanite and the concept of how a Troll should look like.
Schizos
Not all under the effect of Rrat become Schizos. Embodiment of malicious intent, only those who readily accept and embrace the Rrat become a Schizo. The distinction between a Schizo from a laymen's mouth and a Schizo in the scholarly sense also needs to be established. Only those under the effect of Malicious Rrats can be considered a true Schizo. Your neighbor who keeps yammering conspiracy theories all day or someone who seems a little too obsessive with their diety. Those people are in almost all cases just slightly wrong in the head, not a true Schizo.
Exhibiting enhanced physical strength, and pain resistance, otherwise normal from normal humans. Schizos are mostly too craven to be considered intelligent, but still able to operate more complex contraptions such as firearms (how much do they have access to is often the question). Trolls and Schizo seem to attract one another. Trolls and Schizos still retaining most of their intelligence command and lead the craven ones. Exposure to schizo artefacts and ideas makes Schizos madder and madder until either all of their humanity is shredded away or they believe they reached "enlightenment". Once they acquire an artefact of their own they become a schizo Shaman, abandoning all of their previous beliefs.
"Adaptive" Schizos
These are some of the most intelligent Schizos. They can infiltrate settlements and spread their corrupting influence. If they are successful, may even become notable members in the societies and communities they infiltrated. Those who are duped by their sharp tongue would join cults, by which the Schizo ring leaders could use to incite local rebellions or cause chaos in the many realms of the faithful.
Shamans
Not all intelligent Schizos are Shamans but these heretics are more dangerous than the average Schizos due to their ability to cast magik of the forbidden schools. This is more so a "social" ranking between the Schizos. Shamans are usually the leaders of a warband, or Oshis forbid, an army. While they can help convert individuals into Schizos, they don't possess an aura like the trolls. Instead, they use artefacts that either originate from the Northern Wastes or are produced locally. Shamans are also often the ones who create and maintain malicious Rrats.
- Some types of Shamans
- Doxxers: Claims they can locate the true form of the deities in the astral realm and spread their Rrats by creating photographs or books related to said true forms. One of the most common schizo Shamans.
- [###]: Only speak in esoteric formulas and numbers, unintelligible to any person other than Schizos, they use tomes to calculate the power of Chuubas. If any weakness is found, they target the chuuba whose power waned.
- Unicorns: Originally Puritan followers of their diety. They despise any interaction between deities of different sexes, even from the same Pantheon. If any Rrats of the above reached them, they would turn schizo easily.
- Falseflagger: Schizos who sow and revel in conflict. Whether it's Gods from the same pantheon or the same generation, they want to see their followers fight, thus destroying the foundation of their faith.
- Ultra-Monotheists: Extremists who have been driven underground, then turned mad due to contact with Schizos, they only accept the superiority of their God above all others. Can be indistinguishable from falseflaggers.