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Translating Liminal Bridges

Tags: #Magic 
  • March 1, 2017

    So, I´ve recently talked with Kaiser and he mentioned how certain books and the made up words in them don´t really makes sense and I definitely know the feeling. The first time I read Liminal Bridges I felt pretty much like this. So I did some digging, poking around and I think I´ve pretty much nailed the meanings of those words, so let´s take a look at the book then.

    Liminal Bridges
    A Discourse On The Theory and Praxis
    of Travelling Between Mundus and Oblivion

    by
    Camilonwe of Alinor

    Transliminal passage of quickened objects or entities without the persistent agency of hyperagonal media is not possible, and even if possible, would result in instantaneous retromission of the transported referents. Only a transpontine circumpenetration of the limen will result in transits of greater than infinitessimal duration.

    Though other hyperagonal media may exist in theory, the only known transliminal artifact capable of sustained transpontine circumpenetration is the sigil stone. A sigil stone is a specimen of pre-Mythic quasi-crystalline morpholith that has been transformed into an extra-dimensional artifact through the arcane inscription of a daedric sigil. Though some common morpholiths like soul gems may be found in nature, the exotic morpoliths used to make sigil stones occur only in pocket voids of Oblivion, and cannot be prospected or harvested without daedric assistance.

    Therefore, since both the morpholiths and the daedric sigils required for hyperagonal media cannot be obtained without traffic and commerce with Daedra Lords, it is necessary that a transliminal mechanic cultivate a working knowledge of conjuration -- though purpose-built enchantments may be substituted if the mechanic has sufficient invocatory skill. Traffic and commerce with Daedra Lords is an esoteric but well-established practice, and lies outside the compass of this treatise. [1]

    Presuming a sigil stone has been acquired, the transliminal mechanic must first prepare the morpholith to receive the daedric sigil.

    Let the mechanic prepare a chamber, sealed against all daylight and disturbances of the outer air, roofed and walled with white stone and floored with black tiles. All surfaces of this chamber must be ritually purified with a solution of void salts in ether solvent.

    A foursquare table shall be placed in the center of the room, with a dish to receive the morpholith. Four censers shall be prepared with incense compounded from gorvix and harrada. On the equinox, the mechanic shall then place the morpolith in the dish and intone the rites of the Book of Law, beginning at dawn and continuing without cease until the sunset of the same day.

    The mechanic may then present the purified morpholith to the Daedra Lord for his inscription. Once inscribed with the Daedra Lord's sigil, the morpholith becomes a true sigil stone, a powerful artifact that collects and stores arcane power -- similar in many respects to a charged soul gem, but of a much greater magnitude. And it is this sigil stone that is required to provide the tremendous arcane power necessary to sustain the enchantment that supports the transpontine circumpenetration of the limen.

    To open a gate to Oblivion, the mechanic must communicate directly, by spell or enchantment, with the Daedra Lord who inscribed the sigil stone in question. The Daedra Lord and the mechanic jointly invoke the conjurational charter [2], and the mechanic activates the charged sigil stone, which is immediately transported through the liminal barrier to the spot where its sigil was inscribed, thus opening a temporary portal between Mundus and Oblivion. This portal may only remain open for a brief period of time, depending on the strength of the liminal barrier at the chosen spots, several minutes being the longest ever reported, so the usefulness of such a gate is quite limited.

    [1] Interested students are invited to consult the works of Albrecht Theophannes Bombidius and Galerion The Mystic for the fundaments of this discipline.
    [2] Recommended examples of the conjurational charter may be found in Therion's Book of Most Arcane Covenants or Ralliballah's Eleven Ritual Forms.

    Ok, so it doesn´t make much sense at first, right? But once you understand what the words mean it should become much clearer. So, these are the results of what I managed to dig out.

    Transliminal - Trans is used with the meanings “across,” “beyond,” “through,”“changing thoroughly,” “transverse,”. Liminal, as an adjective, means situated at a sensory threshold, hence barely perceptible. Subliminal means below perception. (Which means that Transliminal might mean beyond perception or across perceptions. Thus multidimensional?)

    hyperagonal - In geometry, when a line segment is diagonal, that means the line has traveled in two dimensions, along both the x and y axes. Accordingly, triagonal and quadragonal line segments traverse the third and fourth dimensions respectively. A "hyperagonal media" would therefore be able to transmit energy and matter between and along every existing dimension.

    retromission - Object being immediatelly sent back from where it came from

    transpontine - across or beyond a bridge (bridge between Oblivion and Nirn?)

    circumpenetration - circumstance penetretation of barrier between Oblivion and Nirn?

    limen -  a limen or a liminal point is a threshold of a physiological or psychological response. It is the boundary of perception. On one side of a limen (or threshold) a stimulus is perceivable, on the other side it is not.

    infinitessimal - In mathematics, infinitesimals are things so small that there is no way to measure them

    morpholith - kind of rock, mineral most likely (Soul Gems, Varla Stones, Welkynd Stones, Sigil Stones, Aetherium - maybe even Aedric/Daedric artifacts? - able to contain massive amounts of magicka/energy)

    Put these translations, their meanings, instead of the words and tell me what you think.

    Also, for those interested, the same words appear in two Shadow Magic books, Stepping Through Shadows, Shadow Draining: A Hypothesis.

    So there is some connection between Conjuration and Shadow Magic after all.

    Thoughts? :)

     

  • Member
    March 1, 2017

    Circumpenetration of the hyperagonal limen is grounds for immediate retromission of one's morpholiph. 

    Excellent work Karves! So all we need to do to make transpontine circumpenetration sustainable is to carve a dadric sigil onto it? Who knew it would be so easy to access the transliminal passage?

  • March 1, 2017

    In theory yes. Just think about it. Whole Oblivion questline with the Oblivion Gates and all that. How does it work? Sigil Stone with Dagon´s Sigil, most likely brought out to the real world and then used to create a transliminal portal with enough cirumpenetration to reach Oblivion. And what happens if you remove the morpholith from the liminal lock? Immediate retromission. 

    Also, I really love the part saying that Sigil Stone is like Soul Gem but much much more powerful, capable of containg much more arcane power. Explains why the enchantments from Sigil Stones in Oblivion were so powerful, but still...just imagine what could you do with that shit! 

  • March 1, 2017

    Circumpenetration of the hyperagonal limen is grounds for immediate retromission of one's morpholiph. 

     

    Stop talking dirty, Phil! This here website be a respectable place,  with youngins and suchs with impressionably impressionable minds. :D 

    Yeah, I read Karver's translation a while back, didn't understands it then, don't understands it now. But I loves it, loves it justs the same. You know it's that stuff that you know you can't do, but somebody else does way better and that's Karver with this sort of thing.