Warning: The old Dea is no more.
Note: With these powers, if they are used without cause, any Verdimm can entreat to Sol and if Sol hears them the practitioner could lose their Dea abilities. Or simply be destroyed. Sol giveth, and Sol can taketh away.
Note: Dea'Cri is, literally, God Magic. As such, and given the near-Wiccan elements of Crinosian religion overall, I have decided to given Dea a distinctly Druidic bent. No-one has complained about this (some people were specifically happy about it), and I gave plenty of warning, so if you don't like it you're too late.
In Crinos, there are many paths to power. The strength of body and abilities of the three forms; the use of those gifts of Luna that grow naturally, like the poison-vine; the placation of the gods or the binding of spirits; the strength and versatility of the mind alone; the use and occasionally mastery of the sha'crin. These are not all the paths, but the ones most prominent in Verdimm culture. There is another, though, and one not so spoken of or even known to most save Sha'Cri or other mystics. This other we call the Dea.
In the 1269th Season after Flectivi kill, which was called by some the 1st Season of Meliklivi-Kill, the Consort of Luna, Sol, returned to Crinos. More on that here. As this was perhaps the most momentous moment for Crinos since the end of the time of the One Tribe, all now call it the 1st Season of Sol's Return.
As a result of this change, the old Dea is now revealed as a pale imitation of the real thing, Luna's attempt to make up for the loss of her Consort, who is much more warrior-minded. If you want to look at it, the old Dea can be found here. The new Dea is described below, and Luna's Blessings are here.
Note that when you use Dea powers, people will notice. They are
not on all the time unless otherwise specified, they require
concentration to use. The amount of concentration required is
negligible (less than one pose), I just wanted to make it clear that
no Dea powers (unless that is specifically part of the power) are
always on. Also, Dea is so very, very powerful that people
will almost certainly notice it's use. A Crinosian native who has
ever used Sha'Crin is quite certain to notice, so in general
you should do a pose when powering up. Something that fits with the
power, or simply a general ominous "You feel great power gathering
around
Also, using these powers takes energy. I know this should be obvious, but you never know. Using Dea for any length of time will really test your endurance Even if your END is really gross, you will still run out of power eventually. Dea is powerful enough for just about anything you would want to do, so no twinking! Also note that it is proper RP to act a little nuts if you use Dea a lot. The more commonly you use it, the more eccentric you should be. The is particularily true for Dea'Tor, because fire is not something that living beings generally get along well with, as opposed to all the other elements which are nescessary for basic survival. If you use Dea as often as you breath, you should RP as being almost incomprehensible to other characters.
Dea'Crin is an aspect of the power of the Consort of Luna, Sol, God of the Sun, Lord of the Day Sky. From Him flows the Dea'Sha, the Spirit Aspect of the Dea. This is not really an aspect as with the others, so much as it represents the mindset and basic level of ability required to handle the other aspects of Dea'Crin. Every Dea initiate will have these abilities, by definition.
Each of the other Aspects is attached to one of the four elements (Air, Fire, Earth, Water). As such, it is administered by one of Sol's four Elemental Lords. Each of them presides over the spirits of that Element, and Sol presides over all. The four Lords count as Demi-Gods, and thus cannot be spirit controlled, only called.
The names of the Elemental Lords are Lleu, Bellenos, Herne, and Llyr, for Air, Fire, Earth, and Water respectively.
An awakened (or better) person in each aspect can add an 'n' to the
end of the name of the aspect and use that as a title (it means "one
who
Dea, basically, consists of two things: being on good terms with Sol, and beings really good at getting the elemental spirits that follow Sol to do what you want. Note that this does not give you any particular control over the spirits that are in Luna's domain.
One achieves this control by worshiping the Lord of the element in which you wish favour, performing services if they require them, giving offerings, contemplating the nature of the element in question, and the like. As a result, the Dea practicioner with become very comfortable with an knowledgable about the element(s) they have power in. This leads to a set of abilities that are instinctive, and require litle or no preparation time. These are the powers deatiled on the individual pages. Much more can be accomplished through specifically calling and performing rituals involving the appropriate spirits, although even the most basic powers are performed through spirit intervention.
Note: A Dea power, whether one of the instinctive ones or a full ritual, cannot be 'hung' or placed in an object or anything like that. If you are Awake in some aspect, you can perform a ritual to manifest Master powers, but it might take several hours, and this in non-negotiable and the end result cannot be 'stored' in any way, shape or form. Of course, if the ritual has on-going effects, that's ok, but the ongoing effect cannot add to the Dea power of the user, i.e. creation of a material object or something is OK.
Dea'Sha is simply a term for the basic powers that a Dea'n has, i.e. the ability to get Sol's spirits to pay attention to you. It has nothing to do with Sha'Crin.
In addition to the powers listed under each element, all give the ability to control animals of the appropriate type. These are birds for Air, reptiles for Fire, all water dwelling beasts for Water, and mammals for Earth. With insects, it depends if it fits.
Note: I would like to encourage all Verdimm for whom it is appropriate to go for Dea, as it really seperates the PCs from the NPCs in Crinos and allows for larger plots.
Right now, and for the forseeable future, the way to get Dea is to talk to (or, more likely) send +mail to Sol. Your character must be the kind of person who would be both mystically inclined and into blowing things up. If your character is not mystically minded at all, then neither Dea or Luna's Blessings are appropriate. If your character is primarily into healing or other non-violent magics, Luna's Blessings are by far more appropriate. There is no reason you can't have both. Be aware, however, that if you use Dea or Luna's Blessings with a character who doesn't fit them in other ways (i.e. if you munchkin), people will not want to play with you.
Sol will check is that your character is, in fact, Verdimm and fairly old. If not, special arrangements will have to be made. Once Sol is in agreement that you should have Dea, she will RP a scene with you (unless you really want someone else to do it, but she still has to watch) in which you go to one of the ruined cities (or not ruined ones, if there ever are any ICly) and commune with Sol. Once that's done, you will be Awake in one aspect of Dea.
Note: As of this writing (May 5, 1997) and into the near future, the old cities are hotbeds of Tandrai activity, and in fact are black, as is much of the land surrounding them. Therefore, it would be ICly appropriate to take a stuff hit when getting Dea or new aspects.
To advance ranks within a particular Dea aspect, mail Sol with evidence of IC use of your aspect, particularily in creative ways. The Ranks are Awakened, Potent, and Master, same as with the old Dea and with Luna's Blessings. Note that it is entirely possible that a person would not know that the other ranks exist: no-one's going to tell them (unless another practioner actually does tell them IC), and it's not a cut and dried thing, simply a gradual learning and exploring of one's abilities.
To get a new aspect, mail Sol and she will go through the whole ancient city thing with you again for the new aspect. You should show some signs of having practiced and become proficient ICly with your old aspects, and that this is not just a grab for power. Sol will be very pushy about 3rd or more powers, as these would be extremely rare. Note that to get two opposing powers (Was and Kan, Sil and Tor), the second one you get must be a third power. You cannot have only two powers that are in opposition... Well, I might make exceptions if your character plays as a complete nut case.