A typical solution is to focus this power. If the familiar cannot be reconciled with, the practitioner can focus this other power into an area. The familiar can be given a dedicated space, so that their power does not bleed throughout the remainder of the demesne. These hypothetical powers of death and decay could be focused into a single ornament or object decorating the area.
The draoidh briefly laments the mess caused by the blood in her demesne, pools of sanguine humor and warm trickles from the roof. As she cleans, she discovers that she can remove the mess while retaining the blood. A small contradiction, but possible nonetheless.
With testing, she finds she can alter the other rules of her surroundings. Even a small demesne can be larger inside than it was on the outside. Laws of gravity, physics, rules of magic and more can be bent or broken entirely.
Any rule can theoretically be broken within the demesne. Should every rule be broken? No. Everything in moderation.
Stories abound of practitioners who never left their demesnes. A place that is entirely theirs, where they are a step below a god, and a place where they are safe. The issue arises when the practitioner loses their connection to the outside world. With nothing tying them to people or things, they stagnate, growing weaker, and as they grow weaker, so does the place of power.
The effect is a cyclical one, prompting some desperate practitioners to devote more time and attention to rescuing their domain, failing to see the problem at the root of the issue. In other cases, the practitioner is so attached to their demesne that they become a part of it. When it fades from the world, so do they.
When the practitioner’s demise coincides with that of their place of power, the end result is typically a ghost, and/or a location saturated with power.
When Fionna leaves her domain, she finds more time than expected has passed.
This is a typical thing. Intentionally or instinctively, a practitioner often manipulates time within their realm. When they leave, however, time hurries to catch up with them. The end result is often not intuitive, and can lead to some confusion. Adapting to this eventuality is a part of learning to use one’s place of power.
Whilst outside of her place of power, Fionna finds the connection to the location remains strong, wherever she is. She can deposit power there and rest assured it is untouched. She can also use the location to transmute power, turning personal power into karmic assets, draw from one kind of power to better influence a connection.
As one can determine the rules within their realm, they can use the place as a form of esoteric moneychanger, changing one kind of power for another. Some find that they can draw on their continual connection to their place of power to access it from remote locations. This typically requires a fair amount of power, and may be rooted in certain rules or restrictions. One might use a key in any appropriate lock to access their demesne, for example. Others might draw a door in chalk, or step through a pool of blood left around a slain enemy.
As she’s made her place her own, Fionna finds that she can use power more readily in the area. She notes, in a matter of fact way, that simply holding a demesne generates good karma, bettering her position in the world so long as she tends to the space. The problem, however, remains, she isn’t stronger there than she is in the outside world.
Having driven away spirits in the course of the challenge, our example case finds that the spirits and beings that remain are conciliatory. How, then, does the practitioner build up a power base?
Fionna finds that as she draws and manipulates power in and around the demesne, its power extends into the real world and vice versa. Spirits in alignment with her draw like spirits with them, and on a more complicated level, intelligent beings who visit her demesne and find it to their liking may contact others. Word of mouth spreads, for lack of a better term.
Herein lies the heart of the demesne dilemma. The greater the claim, the greater the power that is reaped. But an area where there are no beings to challenge the practitioner will have few beings of any import occupying or neighboring it, almost strictly by definition. It proves useless to the practitioner. Worse, it is stagnant, refusing to grow, for one needs power to gain power, and such spaces have no inherent power to start with.
It is a canvas to be painted, but nothing more.
She settles into her new role as ruler of this demesne. As she forms contacts with Others, the demesne becomes a meeting place and even a home to some beings, who give her tribute in turn, by way of power, gifts, or service.
A subject that leads us into our next chapter, on the rules and dealings of others within the demesne.
■
Famulus: The Familiar
Case Study for Chapter Two: Lacey and Vic.
Vic is clearly nervous. He fidgets, and in the minute before the interview begins, downs a beer, gets up to get another, and nearly downs the second. His clothes have stains that indicate they haven’t been washed in some time, and his beard growth and the state of his hair suggest the same. His hygiene and condition excepted, the only remarkable trait about him is his height.
Lacey, by contrast, is motionless, staring at the interviewer. She wears only a sleeveless t-shirt and underwear as she sits beside Vic on the couch. Her hand never leaves her weapon. An engraved gun.
The house is very similar to the couple that own it. As they haven’t taken much care of themselves, they’ve let the house languor. The front yard is overgrown, mess litters every surface inside, and bottles are predominant in that clutter. There are children’s toys, but no sound or sign of a child in the house.
Interviewer U. Roike (R): You’re sure this is alright? You don’t look very at ease.
Lacey (L): We’re never at ease. You have that?
R: Yes. I’ll give it to you when the interview is done.
L: Fine. Then get us started.
R: You’re the practitioner. Vic is the Familiar?
L: That’s right.
R: We decided the interview questions in advance, so we could compare and contrast for the book. If we deviate, it’s only going to be a little. Can I ask? Who are you? What’s your background?
L: I’m [insert pause] I don’t know. A girl. A woman, I guess, even if I don’t feel like a grown-up, and I’m almost thirty. Grew up in the next town over. Went to school, had friends. I guess the only thing that set me apart was that my mom and dad knew some of this magic stuff. They taught me it, told me they wanted me to gain an edge.
R: Did you?
L: Yes. Popular, did okay in my classes. Cheated every step of the way, using the tricks I’d been taught, but yeah. Someone made a problem for me, I’d put them down hard. Ended up on top of the heap. Dated the captain of the local basketball team.
[Note: Lacey pauses to indicate Vic, beside her.]
R: And you, Vic? Who are you?
Vic (V): I was on top of the heap, like Lacey, but I didn’t cheat to get there. Natural talent and hard work. Met Lacey, she introduced me to this stuff.